Jim Sweeney: Merrill deserves accolades

I read in the Dec. 22 news article “Wake County schools leader finalist for national award” that our Wake County superintendent is the North Carolina Superintendent of the Year and a finalist for the national award.

In our topsy-turvy world important things can go relatively unnoticed. Like providing leadership for the education of nearly 160,000 kids.

If one thinks of the superintendent as head chef here’s the recipe: take 20,000 employees, budgets, buildings, buses and concerned parents and stir in tons of education, political, economic and social issues, then stir constantly adding ingredients as needed while maintaining low heat.

We seldom see superintendent Jim Merrill in the news. Maybe that tells us something about him as a leader.

I’ve never met the superintendent and guess he’s a bit busy so I’m going to send him an email and let him know he’s appreciated.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Jim Sweeney: Merrill deserves accolades."