The Dothan City Board of Education met at a contentious specially-called session to discuss changes to the job requirements for the position of superintendent.
The frustration was palpable as members discussed and then voted 4-3 to require superintendent candidates have a doctorate’s degree and have previous experience as a superintendent.
Chairman Scott Childers, Amy Bonds, and Aurie Jenkins voted “no” on the measure; Brenda Guilford, Melanie Hill, Franklin Jones, and Brett Strickland voted “yes.”
The move makes DCS the first district in Alabama to require a doctorate degree to become superintendent.
A surprise motion to terminate current superintendent Dr. Dennis Coe’s contract immediately failed, leaving him as the top man for Dothan schools now. He had already resigned, effective at the end of the school year.
Discussion about the job requirements for the superintendent position quickly devolved into bitterness when board members alluded the new requirements had suddenly appeared on paper, no one fessing up to having created the requirements.
One audience member shouted a question of how the board can vote on a measure when no one knows where the measure came from, accusing it of being an illegal vote.
“If no one can admit to the document, how can you vote on the document?” another audience member yelled.
Childers and Coe both attested neither had submitted the document, but still no one on the board admitted to it.
The opposition within the board was very vocal.
“I think it takes out so many candidates who may be a better fit for the job,” Amy Bonds said. “There’s little to no evidence a doctorate alone makes someone a better superintendent… no direct correlation to how good a candidate is.”
Brenda Guilford was the main speaker for the “yes” votes, saying, “We’re not here to have someone who can apply for the job just because they can.”
Aurie Jenkins made comments which were met with applause from the audience.
“Some people are not taking the time to pursue the doctorate because they’re investing in their city. People who know Dothan and understand Dothan are what matters to me,” she said. “We talk about growing our own a lot, but we’re going to turn around and say, ‘You’re not good enough to be a superintendent?’ But we’re not willing to be that district to give people a chance?”
Brett Strickland noted he did not believe the job as Dothan’s superintendent should be “learned on the job,” but the frustration among the board became even more evident when he suggested they use a different search service from a different organization, which made Chairman Scott Childers lean back, shaking his head as the audience reeled.
“I hope our public is paying attention,” Childers said.
The audience responded with a rousing “We are.”
“There seems to be a clear plan for something — I don’t know what’s going on right now, but I do know elections are coming up,” Childers said. “All we need is a leader with integrity and a person we know we don’t have to doubt. Can we just find someone that we know that we don’t have to question? We have those people in the school system. Why would we go outside? Why would we even suggest no one within our system isn’t qualified?”
Guilford replied, “We have plenty of people with doctorate degrees. They may know not be your friends, but there are people.”
Jenkins interjected that the new experience requirement is part of the issue.
“You want to fix Dothan, you fix us,” Childers said.
Childers admitted afterward the meeting wasn’t necessarily the most orderly, saying emotions prevailed.
“There’s a difference in direction for the school system,” he said. “I think we’re either political or compassionate about our kids. We’re one or the other.”
He urged people to reach out to their district school board representatives to hear their side of the issue.
“It’s awfully insulting to say that none of our people are qualified, and there were some people in this room that many people know are quite qualified. And we’re not going to give them a chance? It doesn’t make sense,” he said.
Afterward Guilford defended her beliefs.
“We need a superintendent who has gotten to the highest level… I feel that is a necessary requirement,” she said.
She pointed out all Dothan’s superintendents in the past two decades had doctorates, save one.
“It’s important that we have somebody that has good experience, because that’s what it’s going to take to deal with this system now,” she said. “I ask you to just examine why there’s such a push that we don’t require a doctorate degree.”
She finished her statements saying she believed education is the key to success.
Franklin Jones refused to comment after the meeting, and Melanie Hill was quickly out the door afterward.
