To the board,
I've always been the first to say you don't have an easy job. You take a lot of heat for what is essentially a volunteer position. It is no secret that the supporters of JCPS are unhappy about the series of events from the past couple of years that lead us to removal of transportation options from several schools and undoubtedly will have some very ugly ripple effects for families and schools for several years to come.
It is not your job to "run" the district. That's what Dr. Pollio was selected to do, and it's what he is paid handsomely to do. It is no doubt a tough job with lots of challenges from COVID and its aftermath to the driver shortages plaguing every school system.
My hope was that as an "insider", Dr. Pollio could work to resolve the dysfunction within JCPS. Unfortunately, as the recent internal audit has shown, that was not the case. We hired a questionable contractor to "fix" transportation who made it worse. We failed to engage key stakeholders. And when it all came collapsing down, that leadership did little to improve its image in responding to the collapse.
I understand having faith in Dr. Pollio. In a sense, that's your job. He's the administrator in charge of running the system. You took his recommendations in good faith and I assume you also believed that key stakeholders were being involved in making the work toward a new transportation plan the best it could be. And what we found out is that the dysfunction JCPS has been accused of all along is still there, and it helped lead us to failure. The irony is that a system that is constantly under attack for being "top heavy", many of the problems stemmed from NOT having the right experts in place who could have managed this transition to a new transportation plan and start times effectively.
When JCPS administrators came to you with feedback on new start times, your job should have been to listen and understand concerns. I have no doubt that the administrators who came to you are frustrated. They hear the complaints from parents. They too have to adjust their lives and the lives of their staff in response. But realize that part of their frustration stems from a very real cultural problem that Dr. Pollio has not fixed. Everyone is angry. And many people have reached the boiling point. Maybe there are no solutions. But at the very least you can validate to these principals that they are being heard and understood, even if you don't necessarily agree.
Sadly, Dr. Kolb couldn't do that. Instead he fired off a missive to principals that admonished them for being upset and making Dr. Pollio look bad. The real problem seems to be that Dr. Kolb can't square his own tremendous ego with the fact that the superintendent he's backed has failed so miserably. On numerous occasions Dr. Kolb has made this body look bad with comments on social media and verbal altercations at board meetings that show he's apparently not mature enough as a human being to suck up his own emotions and need to be right for the good of the body as a whole.
It may be 100 percent true that we'd have been in the position we're in now had we taken different steps last year in adjusting routes and schedules. But that does not excuse the numerous failures of leadership to listen and react in a timely fashion in a way that shows the constituents of JCPS that people are doing their level best and using their time, resources, and talent to their greatest effectiveness. Everyone in the district is worn out. And there are many valid concerns and lots of residual anger from a culture that has for years been known as one where it's dangerous to speak out and difficult to be heard. It is completely unprofessional for Dr. Kolb to write a letter like this to staff and beyond the pale for Dr. Pollio to distribute it.
From their actions It's clear that Dr. Kolb and Dr. Pollio are not up to the task of leading JCPS through what will be a rapidly evolving environment. It may be best for them and for the children of Jefferson County to step aside and allow people to lead who will embrace the opportunities that the crisis they helped create presents. Certainly capable leaders would have a thick enough skin to listen to the criticisms of their constituency without petty actions like Dr Kolb's letter.
Sincerely,
Rob Mattheu
