A Man in a Uniform, Geov Parrish
The Stranger, January 22, 1998
(Reprinted with permission)
SOMEBODY’S GOTTA SAY IT: Seattle Public Schools Superintendent John Stanford is a clueless, authoritarian idiot.
The emperor has no uniform. And, in Stanford’s case, the uniform was apparently his sole qualification for running one of the nation’s larger school districts. After two and a half years, you’d think The Times, the P-I, and assorted fans of the local political scene would have caught on, but no: Stanford’s media honeymoon continues.
Stanford’s latest media stunt gives a good glimpse into both his ego and his priorities. With two school funding levies coming up on February 3 — levies that, given low turnout and the usual chunk of “no on anything that vaguely resembles a tax” votes, need all the help they can get — Gen. Patton lets slip to a P-I reporter that he’s received a job offer from the private sector. True, an aide acknowledges, someone in Stanford’s position receives job offers all the time, and he’s not really planning to go anywhere. Then why is this a story? Is it a ploy to get everyone to tell Johnny they love him?
Sure enough, within days a group of private businessmen announced they were raising money to “enhance” Stanford’s $150,000+ salary so he’ll stay. Have any of these concerned citizens visited a Seattle Public School lately? Sat in a crowded classroom with overworked teachers, o books, and paint peeling off the ceiling? Why not spend money there? Or, if we must spend it on a CEO, why not use it to buy out Stanford’s contract?
Stanford’s hierarchical, military approach to school administration keeps getting him into trouble. His ego, his failure to consult or listen, and the mistakes he’s subsequently making are ruining district morale even as he cheerleads. A sample:
• The district with crumbling buildings and giant capital levies somehow found enough money for pricey new offices last year for Stanford and top aide Dan Grasek. Critic Linda Jordan claims that when you add up the costs for all the district’s individual capital projects, there should be lots of money left over. If so, where is it?
• Last year’s new formula for allocating budgets among schools, under the guise of being more “fair,” penalizes inner-city schools like Rainier Beach and Garfield with more special needs students.
• Stanford’s plan to close or restrict high school campuses was sprung on everyone by surprise. It was retracted after principals told Stanford that their buildings couldn’t physically accommodate all their students at once without double lunch shifts and playing havoc with class schedules.
The bungling of the school district’s attempt to use the former naval facilities at Sand point for permanent school district offices, and as a temporary home for Ballard High, aroused the ire of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, the remodel and moving of Ballard High sent that school on a nomadic journey last fall while waiting for a crumbling, asbestos laden empty building (Lincoln Junior High) to finish its behind-schedule, last-minute refurbish-again, there was little consultation with parents or neighbors. Look for future siting nightmares if the district ever allocates funds to rebuild Garfield, Roosevelt, or West Seattle.
Stanford’s plan to allow corporate advertising in the schools is an ongoing debacle. The school board, stung by heated public criticism, rescinded that policy and put it back in his lap. Quietly, a few weeks ago, he appointed a policy committee that is business-heavy, making little attempt to include teachers, schools, or citizens that had expressed concern about selling public schools to corporate interests.
Then there’s Stanford’s own ad on TV for Windermere Real Estate), an embarrassment Stanford defends by saying that education figures should be role models just like athletes or movie stars. It’s a revealing comment about his own ego, and one that could be used to justify any ad. Why not endorse sneakers? Sport utility vehicles? The Apple Theater? Hey, if it gets him on TV....
Bringing in an “outsider” to run public schools — especially one, like Stanford, who brings along a number of his old military buddies to help — is a vote of no-confidence in public schooling. The military angle is also a vote of fear and distrust in kids (“They need the discipline!”).
Clearly, any large school district has problems, and they aren’t one guy’s fault. Nor can one person solve them — especially an incompetent autocrat. There are plenty of people who have political and administrative skills and know something about schools. Everyone makes mistakes. Stanford keeps making them, and is proud of it. Proud enough to make lots more. Who could be worse to lead a school district than someone who, over two and a half years, has shown that he can’t learn, won’t learn, and isn’t interested in learning?
Since no one else will say it, I’m gonna say it again: John Stanford is a clueless, authoritarian idiot. Someone should fire his ass.
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