After nearly an hour of pointed discussion, the Baltimore County school board voted overwhelmingly last night to renew Superintendent Joe A. Hairston's contract for an additional four-year term, despite calls for a national search from a minority of the panel's members.
Describing Hairston as a "change agent," the majority of the board - in an 8-3 vote - concluded that Hairston was best-suited to lead the 105,000-student school system.
"Joe has been a very courageous administrator for us where he has gone along with the change of the times," said board member Frances A.S. Harris. "We don't always agree, but we get the job done. I think we can make a big difference for the students that way."
Quoting from educator and management guru Peter F. Drucker to illustrate her point - "Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things" - board President JoAnn C. Murphy said she supported rehiring Hairston because of his commitment to children.
"When I started teaching in the Dark Ages, the model for students was the bell curve. As a teacher, you were pretty much subtly or directly told, 'Don't worry about those kids at that end; they're gonna learn despite what you do in the classroom,' and 'Don't worry about those kids because you can stand on your head and they're not gonna learn anything.' So you were directed to that little bubble in the middle. And what a lot of children we threw away," she said. "I'm supporting Joe Hairston because he doesn't throw away children. When he talks about teaching all the children, he means it."
But a few board members - including Donna Flynn, who was absent because of a business trip, but had a statement read into the record - questioned Hairston's qualifications for another term as the head of the state's third-largest school system.
"Our board is failing to live up to its duty to represent the citizens of Baltimore County unless it conducts an aggressive national search to ensure that this school system's leadership is in fact the best leadership for the 24th-largest school system in this nation," according to Flynn's statement, which was read by board member John A. Hayden III, who also opposed renewing Hairston's contract.
Flynn wrote that questions have been raised about the ethics of Hairston's behavior, his poor communication and his "ineffectiveness to raise student achievement."
"By design, this board has devoted less than one hour of discussion to the issues related to the decision to renew the superintendent's contract," Flynn wrote, referring to a recently held executive session that limited each board member's comments to three minutes.
"I do not doubt this superintendent has worked hard these past eight years or that his intentions to lead this district's progress are sincere," Flynn continued. "However, it is our job as a board to hold the superintendent accountable for performance, not intentions, just as we hold students accountable for performance before we grant them a diploma."
Voting against renewing Hairston's contract last night were Hayden and Rodger C. Janssen, as well as student representative Audrey Dittman.
Hairston, whose third four-year contract begins July 1, became the county's superintendent in 2000 and earns about $260,000 annually. If he completes the full term, Hairston would become the county's second-longest-serving superintendent. The system's longest-serving superintendent, Robert Y. Dubel, retired in 1992 after 16 years at the helm.
Acknowledging that "it can be painful" to hear the criticisms being raised during last night's meeting, Hairston said he hoped any hard feelings could be put aside.
"This exercise is just one of the hurdles and one of the trials and tribulations that you have to endure if you are going to be around long enough to make a difference for children," Hairston said. "There will always be people who will be against you, there will always people who will be for you. ... You just have to bear with it and move forward.
Before last night's vote, Murphy explained that the board first needed to vote on whether to renew Hairston's contract before it could enter into negotiations over the terms of a new pact with him. She said those terms would be determined later.
Hairston has earned national accolades for technology initiatives, eliminating the system's low-level courses and achieving the country's highest graduation rate for African-American males among large school systems. He has also been credited with increasing participation of minority students in Advanced Placement, honors, and Gifted and Talented Program courses.
But as the system's demographics have steadily changed in recent years, with minority enrollment increasing to about 50 percent this school year, educators - including Hairston - have acknowledged a need to do more to close the achievement gap between whites and minorities.
"We have to understand that we have human beings here, children, and their parents depend on us," Hairston said last night.
gina.davis@baltsun.com