Does it come as any surprise that Raleigh Buchanan, Haverhill's former superintendent of schools, left the city? It shouldn't. What comes as a surprise is the stamina he had to last so long. To his credit, he navigated the waters for some time of a School Committee that often seemed intent on ignoring professional decorum.
It wasn't the teachers who gave Dr. Buchanan difficulty. They probably keep Haverhill's schools afloat. It wasn't the parents either, even though they are so often the scapegoats for a failing school system.
Dr. Buchanan certainly loved the kids.
But privately and publicly he made no bones about his biggest problem: school system image and perception. If he had any fault at all, it was his unwillingness to move ahead with what he knew was right in the face of ill manners and bullying by school board members.
The place the public meets a school system is its school board. It makes the news, sets the policy, can drive curriculum changes, and can have a stamp on hiring despite the rules of school reform that were set up to prevent such a thing.
For years Haverhill's school board demonstrated a lack of professionalism.
If it wasn't former member Kerry Fitzgerald making a nasty comment, member Joe Bevilacqua was posturing with her. It it wasn't Scott Wood bullying someone, it was Shawn Toohey making a decision based on how curriculum would affect 'his' children.
It wasn't until the election of Robert Gilman that someone who actually understood curriculum, had published something in a reputable journal, or had evaluated an employee that things began to change. Sadly, he got fed up. Fortunately he was replaced by Susan Danehy, whose aplomb and good manners the others seldom imitate.
In this mix, Buchanan was trying to do what was best.
When he tried to bring a curriculum to Haverhill to assist with reducing its burgeoning teen pregnancy rate, members Wood and Toohey showed their true colors.
Remember how Wood bullied and ridiculed women from Planned Parenthood who wanted to bring a program and provide free staff not only to reduce the pregnancy rate but also how to stop bullying, how to say no to drugs, and how to make good value judgements? This was because the program also discussed condoms, a dreaded word for some stuck in Victorian times.
Wood may have disapproved of condoms, but his manner was consistent with the know-it-all abruptness we had become so used to. Other examples of this behavior are numerous.
When Toohey suggested that he didn't 'want his kids exposed' to such a program, we saw first hand how he let his personal beliefs interfere with proper public policy.
More to the point was the fact that this program gave parents an option of not having their kids involved!
This is the sort of nonsense to which we had become accustomed. Dr. Buchanan was valiant in his attempts, as was Mayor James Fiorentini who, time and again, tried to maintain discipline among the members of the committee.
That's why last fall's election of a former school principal with such a good reputation gave us hope. Who better knows teacher evaluation than a principal? Who betters understand curriculum than a principal? Who better knows what kids respond to than a principal? Certainly not those who do not have degrees related to subject matter taught in schools if they have reputable degrees from reputable institutions at all.
The election last fall of an attorney to accompany the mayor — who is also an attorney — is a hopeful sign as well. Who better understand contracts and methods of negotiation than lawyers? Who better know legal matters than lawyers? Who better knows how to follow sound decorum in a meeting than a lawyer?
Haverhill's next superintendent needs to have the fortitude to stand up to those who obstruct good sense based on their own personal beliefs.
He will also need to step forward when he sees peacock-like behaviors on display, expose them for what they are, and move ahead with what is right.
If a superintendent is unwilling to move ahead and defy a school board members' irascible or rude behavior when he knows he is right, then he will end up in the same predicament as Raleigh Buchanan and Haverhill's public school image will never recover.
Shakespeare made clear in his plays that one's reputation meant everything. It will take Haverhill years to undo the damage done by past school committee's.
Fortunately, it is on its way.
Contributor Michael Veves taught at the elementary, middle and high school levels for 20 years. He earned an M.Ed. from Lesley University and an M.A. from the University of Arkansas.
