The newspapers recently reported that after announcing the selection of Leonard Mecca as the new principal of Norwalk High School, the Board of Ed was searching for a principal for Brien McMahon High School. Corda must have a job search matrix program that says, step 1: Contact SETI to begin search.

How do we know this? Because rarely are searches conducted for positions within the schools themselves. That would be a simple process, one used in corporate america to identify talent and develop it into a long term resource. Corda must subscribe to the philosophy that either there is no talent to tap within the school system or that he values loyalty over locality. I’m not sure which, but its a question that the elected BOE should ask. How many positions opened up, how many were current employees applied, how many were hired to new positions, how many went to outside candidates.

So let’s see if the Norwalk Public School system posts the available job openings on their web site: here they are. Okay let’s look at this random one:

Administrator for the Center for Global Studies

Brien McMahon High School - Full Time - Certified

($116,315 - $120,772) - work year is 11 months. The Administrator for the Center for Global Studies works closely with the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction on programmatic aspects of the Center and with the principal on all operational aspects of the program. CGS is an interdistrict magnet that focuses on Japanese, Chinese and Arabic languages and cultures. Administrator certification, five years of teaching, proven administrator supervisory ability, and strong interpersonal skills are required.

Experience with interdisciplinary and global studies, ability to recruit prospective students, ability to write grants and follow budget requirements, knowledge of strategic planning

Let’s chew on that for a moment, the administrator works closely with the assistant superintendent and the principal. Hey maybe Bruce Morris is qualified for this! I want to know what the ability to write grants is doing here, isn’t that one of the Corda “don’t touch this” central office staff? Wouldn’t the job description maybe say have some background in Japanese, Chinese or Arabic studies?

I’m sure the BOE will ask why this position is necessary, since the Global Studies program has nothing to do with CMT tests. Right.

I’m sure there’s also a long history of Corda’s preference for Area 51 hires instead of promoting from within.