At each Baltimore County Board of Education meeting, CASE has three minutes to present information to the board in the interest of our organization. The following is a transcript from one of those meetings.
Good evening Chairman Gilliss, Superintendent White, and members of the Board.
I want to remind the Board that CASE represents 577 BCPS employees, including principals, assistant principals, supervisors, coordinators, and pupil personnel workers. They are the public face of the system daily. These are the folks who are in the trenches, and are the level of leadership that is integral to making the system work. I say this because leadership matters.
In the very near future this Board will have to decide on their next steps regarding the superintendent. There are three choices:
- Petition the State Board of Education for another year of interim status
- Conduct a search for a replacement superintendent
- Sign our current interim superintendent to permanent status
I will offer CASE’s recommendation. Our CASE Executive Board voted unanimously to endorse Verletta White as the permanent superintendent. Additionally, we surveyed all 577 CASE eligible employees for their recommendation. You may know that statistically any internal survey that results in a 30 – 40% response rate is considered successful. Our survey of members doubled that benchmark with 439 responses for a 76% reply rate. You need to know that the leaders in this system recommend Ms. White at a 9 to 1 margin.
Why? Because leadership matters.
Three minutes does not afford me the time to delineate why Verletta White is the perfect candidate for the permanent superintendent. I am sure others will provide that information, and I would be more than happy to share my thoughts with the Board individually or collectively. The fact that 90% of the building and office leaders in BCPS support her superintendency clearly indicates a belief and confidence in Verletta White as their leader.
Simon Sinek, described by TED Talks as “a powerful model for inspirational leadership” suggests there is a difference between being a leader, and leading:
“Being a leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning it, good fortune, or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others follow you-not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.”
Ms. White understands this subtle difference and is the best candidate for the superintendent position because, leadership matters.
Thank you,
Tom DeHart
Executive Director, CASE