RALEIGH -- Whatever opinion readers may hold of our current Wake County Board of Education, the recent "surprise" resignation of Superintendent Del Burns should surprise no one, certainly no one who has served on a board or who has reported directly to a board. In my life I have experienced both sides, and I look upon this situation as a golden opportunity for the board members, the shareholders and the customers of this extraordinary organization we call the Wake County Public School System.
Boards and commissions - both public and private - often struggle with the governance of their organizations. Weak corporate boards, for example, may allow their management (the presidents, senior VPs, etc.) to dictate strategy and policy with disastrous results. Enron, General Motors, Lehman Brothers and a host of corporate failures are directly attributable to the weak leadership of their boards of directors.
On the flip side is the overreaching board - the one that tries to micromanage the business by nit-picking and second-guessing and smothering their managers.
There is a third scenario, however, that's potentially more disastrous: when the board of directors and the management are philosophically opposed, but fail to separate themselves.
In the case of the Wake County school board, the board is accountable to the voters - or the "shareholders." The managers (or administrators) are similarly accountable to the board. In the scenario where the board and staff are philosophically opposed, and therefore working against each other, not only are the shareholders cheated but the customers (students, parents and the community at large) are cheated, too.
I do not know Dr. Burns. However, by his resignation he has instantly earned my respect, and I imagine the respect and admiration of every corporate president and director who has ever struggled with this philosophical divide. Many corporate chieftains would selfishly hold out, not wanting to let go of their power, their income or their bonus. Many boards don't have the fortitude to terminate their presidents, preferring instead to "just get along." Either case wastes valuable resources of time, talent, money and trust among all of the stakeholders.
Burns was an effective administrator - for the former board. That board set forth a strategy, and Burns executed its strategy. That board and Burns' staff were in philosophical alignment. Unfortunately for Burns, the old board of directors disappointed its shareholders (the voters), who staged a "proxy fight" and took over the board.
Good for them. If more proxy fights occurred in Corporate America, then perhaps the Enrons, MCIs and the Lehman Brothers of the world would still be in business.
Some corporate presidents and senior administrators do survive, and even thrive under new boards, but some don't. Imagine for example, the president of "paper" being hired by "plastic." He may be a very talented manager, but there are fundamental philosophical differences between a renewable resource (paper) versus a petroleum-based resource (plastic) that would cause any manager to lose sleep. If a leader's heart is not in it, then it does no good for either party.
What some may call a "crisis," I call a golden opportunity. It's important for the school board members to have a staff that's in alignment philosophically with them, and I hope that they hire the best person they can find - give the person good marching orders, and then leave him or her alone. Let the superintendent manage. Let him execute the strategy. If the strategy fails and the customers flee, rest assured the voters will have the last word.
Claude E. Pope Jr. is chairman of the Wake County Republican Party.
