BY MARK SKERTIC
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Steven Adamowski accepted a tentative offer to become superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools Friday, but one group quickly pressed board members to reconsider their decision.
The selection of Mr. Adamowski "divides the community and your own board," warned a letter by Cincinnatians Active to Support Education (CASE).
The board announced Friday it has tentatively chosen Mr. Adamowski as CPS' next superintendent, pending a formal vote. Mr. Adamowski has told the board he would take the job.
But CASE's executive committee wrote board members Friday urging that they extend the selection process, citing concerns about the integrity of the search.
Sources on the board have said Mr. Adamowski, the associate secretary of education at the Delaware Department of Education, has the support of four of the seven board members. Such a close vote sends the wrong message, CASE said.
"There is a perception in the community that your process has been compromised by covert agreements and deals," CASE wrote. "We question whether there may be board members whose vote has more meaning as a message "anti' someone or something, than it does as a confident endorsement of a candidate."
CASE, composed primarily of parents, does a variety of behind-the-scenes work in Cincinnati schools. The organization's primary job is running property tax levy campaigns, a difficult task state law prohibits the district from doing directly.
Although Mr. Adamowski has also received the support of the Cincinnati chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, several groups have said they oppose his selection because he lacks experience in an urban district.
Parents for Public Schools, the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati and the Baptist Ministers Conference have urged the board to consider other candidates.
It is not essential that the vote be unanimous, said board Vice President Lynwood Battle, who supports Mr. Adamowski's selection. Even with a split vote, the board will move forward with the same goals, he said.
"I would very much prefer we be unanimous in this," Mr. Battle said. "But a lack of unanimity has been a barrier for this board to get things done for kids."
Superintendent J. Michael Brandt will retire in July.
