School superintendent search criteria: Must fit in

Sometimes, when I get tired of the shenanigans around here, I think about moving to another small Ohio town. Ironically, Urbana has come to mind, along with West Liberty and Bellefontaine. I've only been up that way a couple times, but I was struck with how pretty those towns are.

Of course, I worry about such a move. Would I fit in? Would I be considered too liberal, too urbane for Urbana? And what would they think of me, a freelance writer (as in chronically underemployed)? In short, what I'm worried about is that towns like that would be too parochial for me.

Parochial… It's not a term I often use. So, I have to admit to borrowing it from someone in my breakout group at the recent Arts Center Forum. He characterized Yellow Springs as parochial. I had always considered Yellow Springs to be rather cosmopolitan (a term I do use) for such a small town. But, for some aspects of this town's behavior, I think I have to agree. We can be damn parochial, even when bemoaning our declining diversity. We have to attract people to town, we say - but only the right kind of people, some of us are inclined to qualify.

This all comes to mind, of course, because of the recent departure of our short-termed Superintendent of Schools, Norm Glismann. Glismann moved to Urbana.

People have said a lot of things about Norm Glismann, pro and con, but on one thing they all agree: He was not a good fit for Yellow Springs.

When Glismann first came to the job in Yellow Springs, I was dispatched by the YS News to do an interview. I found him to be personable, knowledgeable, hardworking, competent and professional. Later, I would even find him to be innovative in trying to find affordable ways to accommodate our advanced students. I liked him. He is a nice guy. But, I worried about that parochial school background in Houston. I worried how he was going to fit in. What was the School Board thinking? I wondered. Two years ago, I could see this coming.

Once I saw him at YSHS soccer game and I thought, he's trying, and he's taking a route he knows. Glismann was a jock in college and almost made it to the pros as a baseball player.

But then came the blow-up about censoring the one-act plays, something for which YSHS Principal John Gudgel was willing to take the blame. The writing and producing of the one-acts always runs behind schedule. That year (Glismann's first), due to an ambitious Water Immersion Program that took up much of the students' time, they were farther behind than usual. I had also been dispatched to do an article about the one-acts. It was hard to get to talk to the kids, as they were frantically working at finishing on time. Their advisor didn't seem to have a hold on what they were doing. At one point, in the final hours before the deadline, virtually all of them were holed-up at one student's house, sans advisor. Nobody had a clue what they were up to, until the very last minute.

Censorship is pretty much a dirty word just about anywhere in the country these days. In Yellow Springs it's a case of them's fightin' words. Self- censorship, self-restraint, and civility, on the other hand, are unheard of. When the plug got pulled on one of the plays, there were parents who wanted to run Glismann out of town on the spot, despite Gudgel's mea culpa. From then on, for some parents, no matter what Glismann did, it wasn't right. Especially whenever he would offer up a dose of reality and suggest that we be fiscally responsible. He had the nerve to point out that the schools were in violation of their own policy in providing school bus service to kids who lived inside the minimum distance.

One of the Blog's readers commented on the post reporting that Glismann had taken another job, "He was DEFINITELY not a good fit for YS and I say GOOD RIDDANCE! What did he mean about 'family values and work ethic'? As a former teacher, all I can say is that he tried his best to mess up the schools, and in some areas, he succeeded."

There's that business about not being a "good fit," again. He definitely wasn't one of us. Even when he tried, we wouldn't let him. And to say "he tried his best to mess up the schools" is patently absurd. Where are the facts to back that up, along with the comment that "in some areas, he succeeded?"

According to a recent article in the YS News, Glismann said that he feels at home with the more rural, conservative values of the Graham School District. The News went on to report: "Family values and the ethics of hard work and integrity are present there," he said of his new job. "My personal and professional values will fit better."

Glismann got in a parting shot. Good for him! He did it like the gentleman I always found him to be. In the end, even he had to admit that he wasn't a good fit.

So, who do we blame, a man who was simply looking for a job in a town that would bring him closer to his children who live with their mother in Indiana, or a school board that ignored the warning signs that were glaringly present in his resumé? Or is it simply a case of there isn't much to choose from when you're looking for a school superintendent who will "fit in" in Yellow Springs?

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According to a notice in the YS News, there will be a special School Board meeting of the whole tomorrow (Weds.) night at 6:00 p.m. to discuss transportation, school lunch and "other items that cannot be postponed until the next regularly scheduled meeting." The notice on the front page of this week's paper says that the meeting will take place in the board room. Elsewhere in the paper, there is a letter from a school board member that says the meeting will be in the "Mills Lawn multipurpose room." In an earlier post, I had assumed that meant the gym, where such meetings are often held. I would check the gym first. There are likely going to be too many parents to fit into the conference room.

Related post: Glismann goes to Graham