Leadership Lite
School Administrator, January 2019
Who Wants One of These Snow-Day Deals?
During a rough winter that forced him to close or delay school on 12 days during the 2017-18 school year, Michael A. Rossi Jr. had his fill of agony. (Rossi’s district had the distinction of ending its school year on June 30, the latest last day of any district in New Jersey.)
To help the Monday Morning Quarterbacks in his community appreciate what it’s like to make the toughest of all superintendent decisions, the head of New Jersey’s Sparta Public Schools put together a series of what he called “3 Great Package Deals” as a time-limited offer to those populating his school district. His sales pitches went like this:
NO. 1
The Open, Delay or Close Gift Package
“Yes – you get to do it all. Read the snow updates, watch the news and dialogue with all the other superintendents as they, too, enjoy this magnificent gift. You’ll start a good 24-48 hours in advance, have a sleepless night and start your journey around 3:30 or 4 a.m. Working with your buildings and grounds, transportation, police and road departments, this gift package is sure to incense many as soon as the Instant Alert goes out. Please see the special instructions for updating the website, alerting the Department of Education and making sure any vendors are aware.” |
NO. 2
The Adjustments to the School Calendar Gift Package
“That’s right – you get to make the decision about the upcoming holiday, end of year and graduation – ALL IN ONE! This worry-free offer is almost too good to be true. You’ll need not be concerned that the current calendar was adopted a year ago, you’ll need not be concerned that you told everyone not to make plans for the last week of June. All you need to consider is each and every individual circumstance of each and every person right now, and accommodate all of them. Wait – that’s not all. If you act within the next 30 minutes, we’ll throw in the 2018-19 calendar for free!” |
NO. 3
The Communication Gift Package
“For the first time ever, we are offering you all the individual responses to No. 1 and No. 2 in one great package. Here’s what you get, with free delivery: e-mails delivered directly to your inbox, voice mails left on your phone (some using up all the allotted time) and various notes and comments that your secretary received or read on social media. Again, that’s not all! For some lucky, randomly chosen individuals, your gift includes a personal visit from someone so you can have this discussion in the privacy of your office. Don’t forget the 24-hour rule.” |
Short, humorous anecdotes, quips, quotations and malapropisms for this column relating to school district administration should be addressed to: Editor,
School Administrator, 1615 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Fax: 703-841-1543. E-mail:
magazine@aasa.org. Upon request, names may be withheld in print.