Superintendent’s Fate in Limbo
By Antoinette Konz, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.
Aug. 11–Carlinda Purcell is still Montgomery’s school superintendent this morning after failing to reach an agreement on how to part ways with the district.
Purcell met with three school board members and five community leaders for nearly four hours Thursday night trying to negotiate a deal that would terminate her four-year contract. Purcell came to Montgomery from North Carolina in December 2004.
The talks came an hour before a special-called school board meeting to discuss the possibility of firing Purcell. That meeting was canceled and rescheduled for 1:30 this afternoon.
“We really tried to make a good faith effort, but were not successful,” said board Chairman Dave Borden, who with board members Mark La Branche and Tommie Miller met with Purcell. “I don’t know what else we can do.”
Also at the negotiations were Keith Karst of Alabama Power Co., the Rev. Michael Thurmond of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, state Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, retired educator Essie Buskey and Mac McLeod with the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce.
Borden sent a letter to Purcell on Wednesday asking for her resignation after four other school board members asked him to schedule a meeting to discuss Purcell’s contract.
Purcell, who earns $155,000 a year, did not return several calls for comment Thursday. She still is going to hold the district-wide convocation at 8:30 a.m. today at Alabama State University’s Joe L. Reed Acadome. The district’s 5,000 employees are slated to attend.
Earlier Thursday, a rally in front of the school board office on Decatur Street drew about 60 Purcell supporters. A handful of opponents also showed up.
Elected officials organized the rally. On hand were Montgomery city councilmen Willie Cook, C.C. Calhoun and James Nuckles; Montgomery County Commissioner Jiles Williams; and Knight and state Rep. Thad McClammy, both Democrats from Montgomery.
“This is a very serious situation,” Knight said. “Why should lame-duck school board members make decisions that will impact our children from now on?”
Knight was referring to Borden, Miller and La Branche, whose terms expire in December. Borden and La Branche chose not to seek re-election; Miller was defeated by Eleanor Dawkins in the June 6 primary.
Beverly Ross was the only school board member who attended the rally. Ross and Henry Spears are the only school board members who want Purcell to stay.
“I think she (Purcell) is the best superintendent this school system has ever had,” Ross said in an earlier interview. “I do not want her to leave. She is what’s best for the children in this community.”
Parent David Smith agrees.
“She brought this community together with the school facility plan, and the test scores are starting to go up,” he said. “They need to leave her alone, give her more time.”
Parents Pamela King and Sharon Whiteside and community member K.T. Brown showed up at the rally to support the school board members calling for Purcell’s resignation.
King said she once supported Purcell, Montgomery’s first female and African-American superintendent.
“Maybe I supported her for all the wrong reasons — because she was a black woman and I thought things would change,” said King, who also is black. “She showed me no respect.”
King said Purcell refused to meet with her and other parents last year to discuss concerns about the lack of certified teachers in English and math at Sidney Lanier High School, from which her oldest daughter graduated this year.
“I will not support a woman who refuses to meet with parents,” said King, who still has three other children in the system.
Parents Angela Thaggard and Christie Smith couldn’t attend the rally but said Thursday they want Purcell to go.
“The school board has bent over backwards to work with her,” Thaggard said. “And it really bothers me that she refuses to work with parents.”
Smith said she hopes the school board stands firm.
“I really hope they do not succumb to all of this pressure,” she said. “There is a lot of support out there, regardless if people can show up at a rally.”
Staff writer Sebastien Kitchen contributed to this report.
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