Montgomery Public Schools Holds Final Town Hall for Superintendent Finalist Dr. Harold Wright
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) — The second and final public town hall meeting for the Montgomery Public Schools superintendent finalists took place Tuesday night at Carver High School, featuring Dr. Harold Wright. Dr. Zickeyous Byrd, former superintendent of Selma City Schools, is the other finalist for the position.
Wright, currently the deputy superintendent of achievement and leadership at Crowley Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas, was given 15 minutes to address the audience of about 30 parents, MPS employees, and board members. He then answered more than 20 questions submitted by people online.
Among the questions, Wright was asked whether he would be willing to stand up to the school board, given its history of forcing out superintendents. Other questions focused on ensuring a non-hostile work environment for teachers and addressing issues such as delayed senior high school transcripts being sent to colleges.
“You know, I tell people, I’m a spiritual man. I’m a family man. I’m a career man. I’ve been a leader,” Wright said. “My strength is in building teams. And when you work as a team—everywhere I’ve been, when we worked as a team—things got better. Kids love school. Kids love learning. Parents love sending kids to our schools.”
Montgomery County Board of Education President Arica Watkins-Smith expressed confidence in both candidates.
“I think that either candidate will be an asset to our community and an asset to our school district,” Watkins-Smith said. “And as I said to our students, I love the fact that they’re so focused on really expanding opportunities for students, and so I’m very encouraged.”
The Montgomery Chamber of Commerce and other city leaders have voiced frustration with what they say is a lack of transparency in the school board’s search process.
The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce withdrew its offer to help host Montgomery Public Schools superintendent finalists’ receptions and fireside chats scheduled for March 24 and 25.
According to Anna Buckalew, Chamber president and CEO, “The Chamber had originally agreed to help co-host these events, based on the expectation of a sincere search process that recruited the best and brightest candidates from around the country. That did not occur, in spite of repeated appeals by a coalition of local leadership for transparency and a request to continue and broaden the search. The Montgomery County Board of Education has sent a very clear signal that the only engagement they seek is to offer audiences with candidates whom they have already selected behind closed doors. The future of MPS students and the vibrancy of Montgomery is at stake here, and that’s worth fighting for,” said Buckalew. “The Chamber again reiterates we are proud of the progress in Montgomery Public Schools and will lend our full support to an expanded and open superintendent search. Montgomery’s students must be ready for the jobs and opportunities new industries generate.
A community survey will be distributed to gather feedback on both candidates. The seven-member school board is expected to announce a final decision at its next meeting, scheduled for April 8.
