Deseret News | Reader comments: 4 finalists named for Utah chief of schools

Reader comments
4 finalists named for Utah chief of schools

Anonymous | 12:44 p.m. May 18, 2009

Where can I apply for a do nothing high salary position like this? Lets get rid of 50% of all non teaching positions at the schools. Then productivity will increase and the budget will align.

Think twice about Shumway | 12:50 p.m. May 18, 2009

He wasn't very popular with a lot of people when he was the Sup't. in Tooele.

Anonymous | 1:06 p.m. May 18, 2009

Anon, if you had any idea how much extra work firing half the non-teaching positions would make for the teachers, you'd think again.

Comments continue below

Dear Anonymous | 2:36 p.m. May 18, 2009

Another clueless remark. I agree get rid of all non teaching staff. Then the teachers can take care of all the administrative duties, do the bookkeeping, clean the toilets, mop the floors. Of course they would complain because there would be no one who would handle the troublemaker, or keep the irate parent of their back. Oh, yes they would just suspend the kid and send him home.

Your comment is another uneducated, illiterate comment from someone who has their head in the ground.

Why are bloggers so stupid?> | 2:41 p.m. May 18, 2009

Well thought out comments are a rarity on these blogs. "Fire all the support staff." Right on. Another idiot who hasn't a clue how a school operates.

anti-idiot bloggers | 5:44 p.m. May 18, 2009

The sad thing is, most likely that's an employee of a school district who wants to fire 50% of the non-teaching staff. There are a lot of angry and non-thinking people in education these days because of the budget cuts.

hire ronnenkamp | 6:48 p.m. May 18, 2009

Please, pretty please! He could take some of his cronies from the district office too. It would be a great hire for Granite School District.

mom of five | 6:50 p.m. May 18, 2009

Mr. Shumway was my teacher at Snowflake High School in Arizona a long, long, time ago. I am pleased to see he has done so well for himself.
Go ye mighty Lobos!

colinalcarz | 7:28 a.m. May 19, 2009

It would be a wonderful thing for Utah schools if Bryan Bowles were to become state superindendant. He has a pure heart and an iron fist. He is someone who does not have ulterior motives, is not a shill for some large publishing company, and isn't ideologically predisposed toward the demise of public education.

you're joking | 8:33 a.m. May 19, 2009

Bowles is someone who protects the organization, not the student. Parents have gone to him with complaints and he has done nothing. If he has an "iron fist" it is protecting the status quo. He is just a figure head. His underlings make all the decisions and he backs them up, right or wrong.

Although I don't think it will matter who has that job at the state.

Narrow it down... | 8:47 a.m. May 19, 2009

Well this search is down to two people. In order to qualify for a big job in the Utah education system these days you need to be a conservative Mormon to be considered. I will use the same logic used in the UVU presidential search to make a prediction. My bet is on the BYU/UNLV graduate, he has the least impressive resume, least amount of experience, and is a Mormon. These facts lead me to believe that he must be getting the job.

Sandy | 9:14 a.m. May 19, 2009

I wonder how the public can get in on this decision. We should be able to see what the thinking of these candidates is, and where they stand, and weigh in on the decision.

And why are so many of them in their 60's? Shouldn't they be thinking of retiring?

Robert | 9:26 a.m. May 19, 2009

Clearly these four candidates are the cream of the crop. Any of these three men would make a fine choice. I'm happy to know that such high quality people are interested in working for Utah's schools.

Alicia | 9:52 a.m. May 19, 2009

This is for "you're joking." You obviously don't know what you're talking about. Bryan Bowles has been the most responsive superintendent I have ever worked with. Name a complaint he hasn't taken care of. His door is always open. He always listens carefully and has diplomatically taken care of some very difficult issues. You must be someone who just didn't get your way because it would hurt many others. Bryan Bowles is a great superintendent ---he cares about students and parents! Have you ever tried to talk to another superintendent? Who are you kidding?

Doug | 10:44 a.m. May 19, 2009

I have no idea as to the managerial and political skills of any of these candidates, but I can say that Bryan Bowles was the best teacher by far I had during K-12 (10th grade English). It was in his class that I learned to write, and he cared more about his students learning and improving than anyone else I had.

itsjustme | 12:34 p.m. May 19, 2009

Rather than replacing Patti Harrington, why not just eliminate the position, saving a lot of money. Every school district in the State has a superintendent and a school board. Why not allow them to make the decisions on a local level, and leave the State to tackle more important issues?

The State is short on money. What a wonderful way to start saving some of it.

Great idea | 2:30 p.m. May 19, 2009

I love the idea of eliminating the position. Decisions should be at the local level.

As to Bowles not responding to complaints, a teacher went into Bowles to complain about a principal (one who is mentally ill and was making horrible decisions) and he did nothing. I also know parents who went to him over an abusive special education teacher. (As did the aides). All he did was transfer the teacher to a school at the other side of the district.

I guess if you like a superintendent who does nothing but read to elementary school kids he's awesome.

Kathleen | 5:37 p.m. May 19, 2009

Great idea, I love your comments! I hope that the state board members read it and decide not to hire Bryan Bowles because we need him in Davis.

I have worked in this district for more than twenty-five years, and I know every principal. For Great Idea to imply that one of those principal's is mentally ill is absurd. I also doubt that Bryan did nothing about an abusive teacher. That also is absurd. I have observed him taking care of problems head on when others have avoided them. He has removed principals and teachers from their positions (others can verify) while other leaders have ignored those problems.

He does nothing but read?! We love him because he is so hands on --- he reads to kids, he substitutes for teachers, he teaches writing classes for teachers, he sends personal notes. He doesn't have to do any of that, but he does it, and someone has the gall to criticize him for reading to children. Go figure?!

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.