On Tuesday night, at the board meeting, Superintendent Hugh Taylor had a chance to become the kind of educational leader that creates winning solutions. Instead he chose to create a future in which everyone, including himself, loses.
I watched with great interest the exchange between Board Member Mark Richards and the Superintendent. Mark asked the right questions; basically is Coach Thrash relieved of his coaching duties and does the Superintendent, acting without board approval, have this authority?
What followed was a magic trick, little more than smoke and mirrors. I applaud the Board members for keeping their cool and acting with dignity. To those of us who have spent decades in the world of public education, Hugh Taylor’s logic and rational was convoluted and tortured.
I have been involved in writing board policy. There is one essential – and unchanging – rule to be followed in developing any policy: The Superintendent recommends and the Board approves or rejects. Neither party has both of these powers.
Coach Thrash was placed by the DeKalb County Board of Education as both teacher and coach. He cannot be removed from either position permanently without a majority vote of the Board. We, as a public, should not be taken in by the efforts of this Superintendent to seize control over all matters concerning personnel. In effect, Hugh Taylor has become the de facto “owner” of every sports team in DeKalb County. He can place and remove any coach, anywhere, anytime, for any unknown reason.
The Community of Fyffe must not become confused by all the slippery, twisting, tricky “logic” of this Superintendent. Hugh Taylor may relieve an employee – including a coach – temporarily from their duties pending board action, but at some point the Board must vote.
I am disappointed in this Superintendent. He had a chance. He could have shown true leadership. In this he failed. I am also a bit angry in his assumption that he can fool us. This investigation has involved several people, gone on for months and no one but the Superintendent thinks something is there.
Instead of informing his board of his reasons for relieving Coach Thrash, he chose to throw Ricky Bryant under the bus. Principal Bryant now must find someone who can make a scoreboard light up and who, over time, can somehow earn the respect and regard of the community at the same level as Neal Thrash. If I were Mr. Bryant I would tell the Superintendent the truth: Fyffe Community still wants its coach. This is a no win situation for a principal. Mr. Bryant is becoming just another victim in a growing list. Learn to listen, Mr. Superintendent.
I am also confused by one simple, very easy step the Superintendent failed to take Tuesday night: Why did Hugh Taylor not ask for an executive session with the Board? So simple. So easy to do. In confidence—that is the purpose of these sessions– he could have informed the board why it was so necessary to relieve Coach Thrash of his coaching duties. Then, knowing there were real concerns, the Board would have shown support for Taylor. If the reasons where valid. To let these unspecified allegations hang out there is the worst thing Taylor can do. It suggests to me that the Superintendent has dug himself a hole.
The Superintendent needs to inform the board and let the members do their job. After months of this, what remains to be discovered? Taylor listened to a small group – very small – and completely failed to understand the interests of a community. This is a characteristic of inexperience and poor leadership. Failing to realize he made a misstep, admit it, and work to create a solution in which everyone can win is another failure of leadership.
Chairman Terry Wooten – for whom I have great respect – must now contact the Board Attorney and get an expensive expert decision – Does relieving Neal Thrash permanently from his coaching duties require a majority vote of the Board? Hopefully, Mr. Wooten will get this statement in writing so all of us can clearly see it.
Op-ed by:
Conner Runyan
144 Friar Tuck Way
Fyffe, Alabama
256.623.2390
