Episode 48: A Summons for the Superintendent
Meanwhile, in the back of the courtroom the mayor edged his way through the crowd to the superintendent.
“The County School Board is not happy with your… performance of last night,” the mayor got straight to the point. “Neither am I.”
“I did what I had to do,” the superintendent replied piously, “to save the town.”
“To try to light it on fire, you mean,” the mayor countered.
“You’re just jealous I outmaneuvered you,” the superintendent claimed. “I’m on the winning side now. I’m aligned with the future. I’m going to be mayor come November. Then, in a couple of years, I’ll have a patron in the White House. I’ll do a stint in the state legislature. Then, how does State Superintendent of Education White sound to you? Maybe even a job in Washington!”
“The County School Board is meeting tonight at 7 pm and requires your presence,” the mayor informed him.
“The County School Board is irrelevant,” the superintendent declared. “They’re going to get voted out come November along with you, and I have two years left on my contract. In November, I’m going to be elected mayor, anyway.”
“The meeting notice.” The mayor shook his head and handed him an envelope. “You have been served.”
“I’m meeting some important people tonight,” the superintendent countered. “They need to reschedule.”
“You serve at their pleasure,” the mayor pointed out, “not they at yours. As superintendent, the board and your duties to them must take precedence.”
“You let them know,” the superintendent pointed a finger at the mayor, “their only shot at continuing to serve is to get with the new order. That goes for you and your overalls, too. You need to straighten out your attitude and get in line. You have a choice. Join the new order or get crushed. After last night? Here in this town? I AM the new order.”
The superintendent tore the summons in half and let the pieces fall on the ground. He turned his back to the mayor and walked away.
The mayor reached down, gathered the summons, rose, and shoved the pieces into his overall bib.
Then the mayor smiled.
Where ever this is set, it's almost entirely different from the (statutory) structure of counties, school districts, school trustees, and superintendents as established in Texas.
The one similar bit is the arrogant school superintendent who routinely has years left on his contract. In my experience, the (local, in Texas) board has to pay an unsatisfactory superintendent to go away (buy him out of the contract) then pay again for a specialized hiring agency to recruit a replacement, then pay AGAIN like a relocation or signing bonus to on-board the chosen replacement, while contracting without any probation period, and for several (two or three) years. After the first year, any kind of positive evaluation causes the contract to be extended for more than one year. An employee in his third year of service hired, initially, on a 3 year contract might have five years left to run. The structure tends to make the "hired" employee more than a little contemptuous of the elected officials nominally in charge of local schools.
Love it!!