Two recent developments in San Diego threaten the viability of reform-minded Superintendent Alan Bersin and his "Blueprint for Change" - a series of worthy district-wide reforms championed by this remarkable public servant and his (until now) 3-2 majority on the school board. (For more, click here.) First, three newly elected board members have voiced dissatisfaction with Bersin's "Blueprint" - a change that the teachers union sees as a golden opportunity to try to run him out of town. (The union is already circulating a petition entitled: "Resolution: San Diego Unified School District Removal of Superintendent Alan Bersin. End Bersin's Monopoly of Failed Educational Initiatives.") Second, last week, a Superior Court ruled that 11 principals and vice principals who were stripped of their management duties by Bersin in 1999 should get their administrative posts back, along with lost pay and benefits. (In 1999, Bersin recommended - and the Board unanimously approved - a decision to reassign to the classroom a clutch of administrators who, according to the district's attorney, "didn't have the skill set to implement [Bersin's] reforms.") While district lawyers want to appeal, their efforts may be in vain; two of the three new board members have already indicated that they want to reinstate the principals and the third says he won't support an appeal.
"Lynching Bersin," San Diego Union-Tribune, November 8, 2004
"Former principals win case against district," by Maureen Magee, San Diego Union-Tribune, November 6, 2004