MPUSD -- the new and improved?

If you missed Monday's meeting of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District trustees, it was quite a sight. A group of parents who had previously complained seemingly non-stop about not being heard, got up and praised an existing program that will be revamped coming next school year, thanks to their input.

They were finally being heard, they said. The program, once in peril, will now go on and thrive.  (I'll save details for another edition of the Herald).

It was as if I'd been transported to another dimension. Is this the MPUSD I've covered for nearly four years?

I sat for a chat with new Board President Jon Hill, and he told me things are going to change. And one of the things he said will change is planning. So they're starting to plan now for the selection of the new superintendent next year. Based on their public conversations, they'll leave the selection to a new board of trustees (there will be at least three new board members come November). But by the time the new elected officials are sworn in and seated, it'll be December -- not enough time to start a process anew.

Hill's thinking ahead. He wants the process to be as transparent and pain-free as possible. I don't blame him.

And recently, I came across this bit of information: the Wake County Board of Education in North Carolina just announced its THREE finalists for the job of superintendent. Candidates will tour the 150,000-student system, and presumably, give the community a chance to get to know them before they're voted on.

I say what's good for Wake County, should be good for MPUSD. Having three finalists publicly announced would save the district a lot of headaches. It's a process that was followed at MPC and Hartnell, and it's worked.