Each Thursday, we put one of our local newsmakers On The Spot.

This week: Auburn school superintendent John Plume

Asked by The Citizen for a brief review of my time as superintendent, I picked three items as markers of success, some progress, and disappointment.

The area most often cited by community members as a major improvement is the decision-making and the conduct of the board of education. Previously, our boards had a history of rife conflict and personal agendas lacking in respect or compromise. Since Al Emmi's service as interim superintendent and my six years, the board has been very diligent in basing its decisions on data and documented reasons. Board members defined their own rules for respectful dialogue and judgments, and usually reserve at least two weeks to sort through pros and cons of policies and votes. It is important to keep that practice alive and well.

A second initiative remains incomplete: a well sequenced, integrated plan for curriculum and instruction which supports all children through graduation. Our district is large, and schools by their nature do not respond quickly to change from local, state, or federal directives. The nation's No Child Left Behind and the State Education Department's (SED) assessments change their design from grade level to grade level and sometimes from year to year. SED has revised the math curriculum statewide with no funding set aside for training or texts. Performance indicators for poor, handicapped, and minority children set the bar higher than ever before in the state. Adults who previously passed Regents or GED exams would find the new tests much more difficult. Those kinds of adjustments take longer than they should, and not all of them help children learn better.

The biggest recent disappointment for me as both a school and a community issue was the rejection of a synthetic turf. It is possible - some say likely - that a proposition will pass if the surface is located at Holland Stadium, making that site an even better jewel of the city. Time will tell as community members may get a second chance to vote on a different plan during the next school year.

Quite a bit of work remains this year.

John Plume

Superintendent of Schools