Clovis parents watching the new schools chief to see if she backs teachers & students | Opinion
When Superintendent Eimear O’Brien announced her retirement in January from the Clovis Unified School District, there was a lot of speculation on who and how the CUSD board would decide who it would be.
What criteria would they use? How closely would they expect that person to adhere to O’Brien’s, or the board’s, way of doing things? Would they just name Norm Anderson and be done with it?
The answer came on March 20th with the board unanimously approving the hire (pending a contract negotiation) of Dr. Corrine Folmer as the new superintendent after an “exhaustive” and “statewide” search for candidates.
Folmer is a graduate of Clovis Unified who has held many positions within the district, from teacher to associate superintendent of school leadership. On paper she’s an excellent choice, and early reaction from staff and parents in the district has been overwhelmingly positive.
Of course, now the real questions begin. Folmer will inherit a district that has a reputation for underpaying, over-administrating, generally being hostile to “others” in the form of minorities, unions, the LGBTQ+ community, and following a small, loud minority of Clovis parents who want things to go back to the way they were when Floyd “Doc” Buchanan was the superintendent in the 1960s.
In February a link was sent out to a “Thought Exchange” where members of the community could voice their opinions about the next superintendent. Basically, anyone could write a comment about what they were looking for in the next superintendent. Five hundred sixty-nine submissions were recorded, ranging from the divine (literally) to the absurd (also literally). But here’s where things got interesting. Anyone in the Thought Exchange could “rate,” on a scale of 1-5 stars, what they thought of all the comments that had been submitted.
The highest rated comment (4.7 stars) was, “We need someone who values teachers. If we only hire the best, why can’t we pay them the best?” Practical, logical, makes sense.
And what was the lowest-rated comment? “Fight California. Let’s be a sovereign school district,” with a rating of 1.6 stars.
Among the 10 lowest-rated comments, four of them called for all decisions to be made by parents instead of teachers. There was an “anti-woke” and an “anti-CRT,” another “stand up to the State,” one insisting that the new leader be a practicing Christian who would “not tolerate satanic, homosexual, cross dressing or other sins.”
Meanwhile, of the top 10 highest-rated comments, a whopping seven of them focused on inclusiveness and/or diversity for students of all races, genders, and sexualities. Along with the aforementioned “pay teachers” was smaller class sizes, ranked No. 2 with 4.6 stars, and a superintendent needing to be “open to hearing what’s working and what could be better from teachers … not administration and managers.”
One must assume Folmer is aware of the Thought Exchange, but does she take the results seriously? Actions will tell. Because there will still be that small band of people who are incredibly loud and persistent, and will continue to be until/unless they get their way. Most people in CUSD want the same things: Someone who will support great teachers, compensate them well, and give them resources to help as many kids, from as many backgrounds, in as many ways as possible.
It doesn’t seem like too much to ask. In fact it seems like a clear road map to follow. Folmer has an incredible opportunity to move CUSD forward with inclusivity, understanding and positivity. It shouldn’t take long to figure out if that is her plan.
