Community speakers urge action on reading proficiency and call for a national superintendent search
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Summary
Public commenters accused district leaders of insufficient accountability on student reading outcomes and urged a national superintendent search instead of a brief internal-only process; speakers cited state designations for struggling schools and questioned whether residency requirements serve students.
Speakers during the public-comment period pressed the board to act on long-standing literacy concerns and to broaden the district’s superintendent search process.
Dr. Tina Schultz, representing the Niagara Community Information Group, told the board she has spent two years "sounding the alarm about the district's reading insufficiency" and criticized what she described as a lack of accountability from district leaders. "We're tired of the dismissal of legitimate and expedient help," she said, urging the board to enforce what she framed as the community’s "civil right to read."
Sharon Bailey said 10 of the district's 11 schools are identified by the state as needing "supporter intervention" and noted the district spends about $28,000 per pupil. Bailey urged the board to commit to a national superintendent search rather than a short, internal-only process. "If we want different results, we must make different choices, and a national search is the first one," she said.
Board members did not take an immediate policy action in response to the speakers during this meeting. The superintendent and board later moved to continue into executive session for personnel matters; the public speakers’ requests for accountability and a broader search were not resolved on the record.
Provenance: Public-comments statements from Dr. Tina Schultz and Sharon Bailey are reported verbatim from the transcript.