|
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - In Cincinnati, the candidates for school superintendent were issued numbers or letters to conceal their identities. Their expenses were reimbursed in cash, so that there was no paper trail. In Monroe, La., the school board refused to disclose the names of its candidates. In Dayton, Ohio, the board didn't even know their names.
Across the country, a quiet revolution in the way larger school districts choose their leaders has taken place over the past decade. Secrecy and concealment have become central to such searches, and more and more big-city school systems are using headhunter firms that specialize in keeping things quiet.
The school boards and the headhunters defend the closed-door policy, saying good candidates will be scared off if their names become public.
|