MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Otis Sanford reporting:
There is no sugarcoating it. The search for the next superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools has turned into a debacle, and it exposes some serious flaws in the governance of the state's largest school district.
During a school board session last weekend that can best be described as calamitous, the announcement of three finalists selected by a private search firm went over like a lead balloon.
The discontent expressed by board members of the search process apparently was the deciding factor causing two top candidates this week to pull out of the running.
One of them, former Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Casellius, basically said the uproar at last weekend's meeting convinced her to think twice about returning to Memphis. She once served as a middle school academic superintendent for then Memphis City Schools.
Then, when the second top candidate withdrew, it became obvious that the search is in disarray.
There is no point in blaming any one person because everyone directly connected to the search is responsible. That means board members and the head hunting firm.
Plus, there was the rancor over interim superintendent Toni Williams becoming a finalist after she initially insisted she was not interested in the job permanently.
The fact is, the MSCS board — on its most important duty — is not looking very good. Hopefully, the search will get back on track sooner, rather than later.
I'm Otis Sanford, and that's my point of view.