Zone 4: Question 1 Responses

Question 1 – Zone 4 Responses

Will you act to postpone the appointment of a new OCDSB director? If no, what are your reasons? If yes, what are your reasons and how will you act?

Submissions in alphabetical order:
– Wendy Hough
– Dragos Popa

Wendy Hough – Yes, but
There is clear merit in both positions.  One cannot deny the importance of experience in making any decision thus rendering the input of the outgoing Board of Trustees quite germane to the process of selecting the new Director.  However, the alternative of leaving the final decision to the incoming Board who will ultimately be in the position of working with this individual over the course of their term is also a valid position.  If the legitimate goal is to ensure that the best individual for the Director’s position is ultimately selected, perhaps we should consider a different approach.  Instead of choosing between one or the other of the options presented, we can devise a plan that would allow us to leverage the insights of the experienced Trustees and marry that with the fresh perspectives of the incoming “rookies”. In my opinion, we can, and should, take the best of both options.

What I would propose is a postponement of the new OCDSB Director which would see the Associate Director take the acting leadership position.  I agree that we can assume that given the competence of the OCDSB executive team, such a transition should be manageable with minimal disruption for a short interim period.  I would, however, further propose that the sitting Board of Trustees assume the role of experienced elders and continue to be tasked with reviewing the applicants and producing qualified recommendations to the incoming Trustees.  The shortlist should be produced by the sitting selection committee.  Unless that committee feels that there are no suitable candidates in the pool, there is no need to extend the application process and no need to wait for the incoming Board to vet the full contingent.  The incoming Board would then be given the ultimate responsibility of making the final selection from the short list produced.  If this were the first order of business following the transition to the new Board, the delay in the process would, in fact, be minimal.  Instead of seeing the timing of the replacement of the Director as a divisive issue, we can look at it as the opportunity to make a very well-informed decision.

Dragos Popa – Yes
I think the new board should select the new Director, NOT the current board of trustees.