Highland Park, New Jersey, bought out its controversial superintendent Timothy Capone for $112,766 (less than a year’s salary), although he had another three years to go on his contract.
Jersey Jazzman had previously written about Capone and identified him as a “reformer” connected to Chris Cerf who was anti-union and focused solely on test scores. Among his first actions was to fire nine employees, who happened to include the president and vice-president of the local teachers’ union.
He managed to alienate parent groups as well, and school board meetings tended to be standing-room-only, raucous affairs.
The lesson here, it would seem, is that controversial “reforms” can succeed where there is mayoral control or districts controlled by the state. But in a typical district with an elected school board, superintendents must practice the arts of persuasion and collaboration with parents, teachers, and the community. Not easy, but that’s leadership.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This guys gets a severance for almost $113,000 and reformers are complaining that teachers are paid too much and paid on the wrong basis? This guys obviously was not “performing” and therefore had to leave the job.
And instead of being placed in a rubber room, he gets rewarded with $113,000. Heck, that’s the equivalent of about 2.5 teachers in North Carolina.
I do not mean at all to put down superintendents in general or the role of which. It is an unspeakable difficult job. And most superintendents are excellent at what they do.
But it just seems that this reform movements has a few hypocrisies to correct.
Cx:
” . . . unspeakably difficult job . . . “
These reformer superintendents enter their positions in our public school systems after negotiating a contract. All the while wanting to eliminate the rights of teachers to bargain.
They didn’t take the last name as a red flag? ;^)
Yes, that’s what I was thinking!
I’m from Highland Park, and I’m happy to see this guy go. I don’t have all the explanations as to how he got hired, or what the negotiations were to finally get him to leave. But a lot of people in our town were furious that the local school board signed a four-year contract with a guy with ZERO years of superintendent experience, and scarcely more experience as a principal. Why they didn’t insist on a probationary period is beyond me.
Thank you, thank you. -Jenni, Highland Park, NJ
Many in the HP community (as well as some in neighboring communities) sent many e-mails and letters, and spent many long nights at BOE meetings last year advocating for change. This is a testament to their persistence and civic-mindedness.
Members of the Highland Park school board, with the exception of Mrs. Darci C. Should suffer some sleepless nights over their decision which ruined nine plus careers.
This paragraph struck me as on point with your comment–I EMPHASIZED the important points to highlight them:
“His decision to lay off nine workers, a perceived focus on testing data, and poor relations with the school union soured many in the community, AND WITH SCHOOL ELECTIONS COMING UP IN NOVEMBER, the board acted swiftly. Rumors in Highland Park began swirling about a month ago that the district was working to push Capone out, a remarkable turnabout GIVEN THE BOARD’S DEFENSE OF HIS TENURE, AND ITS OFTEN UNANIMOUS APPROVAL OF HIS DECISIONS, amid the turmoil last winter.”
The board defended this guy. The public protested. Elections are coming up. They played politics to save their positions. Where is the “severance pay” for the nine employees they fired? What were the reasons for firing the union president and vice-president? Surely they should have gotten due process. I would like to know what the board’s case was against them.
This put a band-aid on the issue, but the real winner in this situation is politics.
To be fair, B nadier, let’s not blame Ashley. He wasn’t a member of the board then either.