That’s how to describe the Duluth School Board’s modus operandi as demonstrated once again by this story and this editorial:
The opportunity seemed clear: Give Gronseth until, say, the end of the school year to see if he could emerge as the strong leader the district so badly needs, to see if he could pull back together a community clearly divided by the Red Plan. If so, hire him permanently. And if not, consider launching a new search.
That logical strategy started changing Friday when School Board members called a special meeting on the superintendent issue. Why they couldn’t have waited until their next regular meeting, when more of the community would regularly be paying attention, wasn’t made clear.
The strategy completely unraveled Tuesday when the board voted to immediately begin negotiating a contract with Gronseth to replace I.V. Foster, who resigned just this month amid controversy over his lack of a license. The 4-3 decision was hardly an overwhelming vote of confidence for moving quickly. The vote followed just a half-hour of discussion.
I should note that this smacks of Machiavellian maneuvering to get the candidate that Judy Seliga-Punyko and Ann Wasson wanted all along. The DNT Editorial Board is not in the best position to criticize their methods having condoned so much similar behavior by them in the past.
