OJR board should delay hiring superintendent

The Owen J. Roberts School Board announced a Meet and Greet for the finalist of the superintendent position just two days after the Nov. 7 election of three new school board members. At the Meet and Greet on Nov. 9, it was announced that Dr. Susan T. Lloyd, the principal at the North Coventry Elementary School, would be the new superintendent. She was one of 31 candidates interviewed, 25 of which were sitting superintendents.

In 2009, three school board members who were defeated for re-election voted to terminate without cause then-Superintendent Dr. Myra G. Forrest despite the objections of a huge crowd of protesters. Owen J. Roberts has since had five acting or permanent superintendents. One was there a week and another only three months.

Dr. Lloyd is to be officially hired on Monday, Nov. 13, at the school board meeting. During the Meet and Greet, several audience members, including myself, asked why the hiring of Dr. Lloyd was not paused until the three new board members were sworn in on Dec. 4. No clear answer was provided.

Given the complicated history of the Owen J. Roberts School Board’s hiring and firing of superintendents, it doesn’t seem prudent to hire a new superintendent just three weeks before three new school board members are sworn it. They will have to work with her for the next four years. There is no reason why she must start immediately. It is an unnecessarily contentious way to begin such a vital relationship for a school district that has had such a troubled past with the community.