Parents in Cobb to have say in hiring principals

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Parents of Cobb County students soon will have some say in picking the people who will run their schools.

The school system is implementing a new process for hiring principals that will require parental input. 

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and his administration will make the final hiring recommendation as before, and the school board will retain final authority on each hiring.

"But he's getting more input from the community," said board chair Alison Bartlett of Hinojosa.

The superintendent will offer details at Wednesday morning's school board meeting. On Tuesday, he said he'll have senior administrators create panels to examine lists of job candidates and rank the candidates.

The panels will probably have a half-dozen members, half parents and half staffers. They will rank applicants, but Hinojosa said he will retain veto power, which he said he will use sparingly.

"We're going to have a much more open and inclusive process," he said.

Bartlett said the plan marks a break from the past, when principals often were moved to other positions after a few years "for resume-building and experience-building." She said Hinojosa, who took over as superintendent in July, wants to leave principals in place because "he believes in community-building."

Hinojosa said he'll rarely ask principals to move into different jobs; it'll be up to them to request a new position. "As long as they're working fine," he said, "they can stay."

Once the new process is in place, candidates will apply to run particular schools rather than apply to work as principals anywhere in the county, which is the current practice. Hinojosa said the new method will be used first at two schools in need of principals: Shallowford Falls Elementary in East Cobb and Griffin Middle in South Cobb.

The panel idea appeals to Karyn Harrison, a South Cobb parent.

Even if parents have only an advisory role, "At least they would hear our input and what we want. ... I think it would be great," said Harrison, South Cobb PTA Council co-vice president.