Some research on County Superintendent candidates

Editor, To the voters of Tulare County: I had the opportunity to attend a candidate’s night a little over a week ago. One of the races featured was for Tulare County’s Superintendent of Schools. Here are some of the things I noted:

t Classroom teaching experience: Tim Hire, four years at the secondary level. His opponent, two years at continuation level (although people have told me they can’t find evidence of a credential with the state of California.

t Years as Superintendent: Tim Hire, 12 years, with many of those years as Superintendent of Elementary District as well as High School District simultaneously prior to unification. His opponent has six years, the last three being at the Tulare County Office of Education.

t Districts served: Tim Hire has worked in two of the small to medium-sized school districts, which make up nearly 2/3 of Tulare County Schools. His opponent has worked only in the largest district in the County

Another thing I noticed was that Time Hire’s opponent continually refers to himself as THE Deputy Superintendent of Schools for Tulare County, when there are actually five Deputy Superintendents that serve at TCOE.

Tim Hire is entering the final third of his educational career at the age of 50; his opponent? I’ll let you research that for yourself.

Finally, I’ve noticed that in many ads, Tim Hire’s opponent says it is not the time for on-the-job training. I agree! And that is why I have done the research that I have done to see that Tim Hire is the right person to serve as our next Tulare County Superintendent of Schools.

Vahnn Blue Lindsay