Essaying arguably the boldest move by a School Board member in this century, Board President Scott Zeidman, no slave to tradition, gambled and won last night in the first step toward hiring Interim Supt. Patti Jaffe as her own permanent replacement.
In a Board Room buzzing with anticipation, the impossible melted into the quite possible, if not likely, faster than an ice cream cone secreted in an oven.
Momentum for Ms. Jaffe rose like a rocket across the crowded room. It sounded like one of those oldtime political conventions when no one actually knew who would be nominated as a Presidential candidate.
Mr. Zeidman, author of Ms. Jaffe’s conditional contract last year as Interim Super —which barred her from applying for the fulltime appointment — reached for a perhaps overlooked clause that said the agreement was amendable.
Who Is with Him?
Utilizing that nifty wedge, he asked for majority Board support to agendize a “consideration” of changing the agreement at the next meeting. He barely received it, Kathy Paspalis swiftly joining Steve Gourley, Mr. Zeidman’s most frequent ally, to create a 3 to 2 majority. The two, Patricia Siever and Karlo Silbiger, appeared stunned by Mr. Zeidman’s bombshell.
Now what?
First, Ms. Jaffe’s reconfigured agreement needs to be approved, not necessarily a cinch.
Left unsaid last night was that selecting Ms. Jaffe as the Real Super would be the obvious next logical action at the Tuesday, Feb. 8, School Board meeting — which may have to be shifted downtown to the Coliseum to accommodate interested factions.
Welcome to the world of emotional jigsaw puzzles and rapidly shrinking longshots.
Virtually no one in the room knew what was coming, and that was what made the unsolicited hotter and hotter buildup for hiring Ms. Jaffe fascinating to observe.
Early in the meeting, during the public comment portion, teachers, parents and Teachers Union President David Mielke paraded to the podium to richly praise Ms. Jaffe, personally and professionally, urging an unsuspecting School Board to figure a way to name the people’s choice.
How Many People Agree?
Almost as if on cue, the crowd vigorously applauded following each individual endorsement.
When it was the Board’s turn to make observations, Mr. Zeidman, as President, was last in the queue. No previous Board speaker mentioned Ms. Jaffe or had her on his mind.
Sometimes understated, Mr. Zeidman possesses a buttoned-down flair for drama, which emerged last night. Like a crack attorney, his day job, you never ask a question without knowing the answer.
Scanning the audience, he asked how many people endorsed Ms. Jaffe as the Next Super. It appeared every arm shot up. Some people voted with both arms.
Ever since Ms. Jaffe’s elevation last June, Mr. Zeidman steadily and openly has lauded her “extraordinary” performance, model efficiency and faultless attitude/job approach.
While there undoubtedly is opposition to her further promotion, Ms. Jaffe’s enduring popularity has been more palpable than ever since last June.
Taking no chances, Mr. Zeidman read from a prepared statement:
On June 24, 2010 at a Special Open Session of the Board of Education, as item number 8.1b, this Board approved an “Agreement for Interim Superintendent, Culver City Unified School District” In doing so, this Board appointed Patricia Jaffe as Culver City Unified School District’s Interim Superintendent.
Language in the Agreement that this Board presented to Ms. Jaffe included under paragraph 1, Term of Agreement, the following:
“The parties agree and acknowledge that the Interim Superintendent is not eligible for the position of ‘new’ or ‘fulltime’ Superintendent with the Culver City Unified School District at any time prior to July 1, 2012.”
However… there is additional language in that Agreement. Also in paragraph 1, the Agreement provides as follows:
“The parties may, at any time, and by mutual written agreement, amend and/or extend the terms of this agreement.”
In English, we as a Board (with Patti’s consent) have the ability to amend the agreement, and to remove the language prohibiting Ms. Jaffe from becoming our new or fulltime Superintendent.
There is precedence for such an action, as the city did virtually the same thing with Mike Thompson and the position of Fire Chief.
I believe that Patti Jaffe has done a commendable job as our Interim Superintendent. I am certain that I am not alone in that belief. Indeed, if emails and presentations to the Board are any indication, I am in the vast majority.
I recently learned that one Board member is responding to these emails by saying that we cannot consider Ms. Jaffe because of the language in her contract. I am concerned by this since it creates the impression that by limiting the pool of candidates, we may not be doing everything we can to find the best possible person to be our next superintendent.
As President of the Board, I have the power to agendize an item without board consent. However, with something as important as the amending of this Agreement, I would prefer to have others join me in agendizing, for the next meeting, a discussion and possible action to amend the Agreement to make Patricia Jaffe eligible for the fulltime position of Superintendent of the Culver City Unified School District.
Are other members of the Board willing to join me?
See if you can follow the bouncing calendar tracking Ms. Jaffe’s exciting recent life, since last spring:
Eight months ago — After 40 years of teaching and administrating in the School District, Ms. Jaffe is preparing to sedately cruise into retirement, teaching occasionally at Loyola Marymount. Her world is spun upside down on Memorial Day weekend when Supt. Dr. Myrna Rivera Coté shocks the community by announcing she is resigning, effective within days, to go to Pico Rivera. Responding to a groundswell from teachers, parents and other backers, Ms. Jaffe quietly applies for the Interim position, understanding it precludes consideration for being chosen the Real Super.
Seven months ago — On June 24, she is unanimously confirmed as Interim Super. She agrees to an open-ended contract on a day-by-day basis, however long a search for a fulltime Super takes, for a maximum annual salary of $200,000.
July, August, September, October, November, December, January — She is hailed regularly by colleagues, teachers and influential community members who loudly advocate retaining her.
But, as with the last eight months, the next chapter in the Patti Jaffe story cannot confidently be predicted.
