Manatee County's schools superintendent Diana Greene earns strong job reviews from board, merits long-term contract
After a year into her tenure as Manatee County schools superintendent, Diana Greene received a commendable performance evaluation from the School Board. On a scale of one to 10 with the latter figure the best, she scored mostly nines and 10s on a slew of metrics.
This is also Greene's first year leading a district as she moved up from her post as deputy superintendent of instruction. She stepped into a position rife with public distrust, low teacher morale, administrative upheaval and School Board discord, but she managed to instill harmony and hope to a floundering district.
Under her watch, some impressive gains have been achieved and more are in the works, particularly on academics. Along with her outreach to parents, her community engagement includes membership in a host of civic organizations. Greene also showed a commitment toward uniting stakeholders, mending the past turbulence that tore the district apart and recouping the public's trust. Her dynamic communication skills facilitate her pursuit of myriad goals.
During her six-month performance evaluation, Greene scored 10s in most categories -- indicating board confidence in her leadership. The past six months serve to confirm that judgment. Her modesty became apparent in her self-evaluation where she put lesser scores.
Greene has proven her mettle and earned the four-year contract that School Board Chair Karen Carpenter pitched at this week's board meeting. Carpenter indicated the length of the contract is tentative and negotiable, noting she and Greene are pleased with a long tenure.
After a draft of the contract is written by April's end, the board is set to vote in May.
A four-year contract would send a loud and clear message to the community about the board's confidence in and commitment to Greene's future with the district.
Her current one-year contract exposed the superintendent and district to uncertainty. Another short-term deal would undermine public confidence in the board and bring suspicions of political overtones.
The board could further express their faith in Greene by eliminating the contract clause that allows the superintendent's dismissal without cause. That provision creates a negative atmosphere and leaves the superintendent vulnerable to the political whims of board members who can muster a majority vote on termination. There should be a just cause provision delineated in the contract instead.
Greene's first-year evaluation covered 15 metrics with grades on rapport building, stress tolerance, decision-making and communication among them. In his performance review of Greene, board member John Colon wrote, "... works hard for the district and our children. Very protective and compassionate regarding teachers, staff and children. A few areas could use fine-tuning; overall Dr. Greene has exceeded expectations."
As a further sign of Colon's appreciation of Greene, he stated that she deserved to be paid the same as former superintendents. "Being she's a woman, I believe in equal pay for equal work, and I believe her work is more than equal."
His statement came on the same day as the national Equal Pay Day, a date that symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year -- more than three months of extra toil to equal a man's paycheck for the same job.
Kudos to Colon for spotlighting this inequity and proposing a fix.
Two of the district's newest strategic efforts showcase the innovation occurring under Greene.
In order to show students the pragmatic application of science and math, children from kindergarten up to fifth grade head to a kitchen for cooking class. For a math lesson, they learn how to cut and measure solid and liquid ingredients. For science, students watch liquids turn into solids and vice versa by melting ice into water in their gloved hands and observing liquid muffin batter bake into a solid treat.
A dozen middle school classrooms will soon be outfitted with the latest technology including virtual reality products, giant projection board with 16 unique touch points and special lab discs that automatically gather data and plot measurements for science projects. These so-called "innovative classrooms" will also feature different types of desks, chairs and other furniture, all to facilitate collaboration.
This is an exciting time for the school district under Greene's sturdy and stable leadership. The board should reward her and secure her services for years to come.
This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee County's schools superintendent Diana Greene earns strong job reviews from board, merits long-term contract."