The debacle at the University of Virginia over the secretive ousting of the school’s first female president is more than a tale about how one school’s governing board can blunder. It is a sign of these unfortunate times in public education at all levels, the Washington Post reports. The actions of the governing board of the elite public university [1]in forcing out popular President reform at all levels has been carried out in recent years in some important ways. Here are some key phrases that describe the episode: Acting in secrecy. Ignoring teachers. Viewing public education as a business. Refusing to admit a mistake. Who does that sound like? (Answer: Modern K-12 school reformers.)
Let’s review: The head of the governing board, Helen Dragas, a fiscally conservative developer from Virginia Beach, worked for months in secret on a campaign to fire Sullivan.
She kept the faculty — who, along with the students, are the heart of any school — ignorant of her plans, and when the news became public and professors demanded an explanation, she didn’t give it to them…