COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus branch of the NAACP issued a vote of no confidence against the Columbus City Schools Board of Education on Thursday, saying the board lacked transparency in the search for the district's next superintendent.
In addition to a lack of transparency, the NAACP said its vote of no confidence is due to a "lack of responsiveness and submission of incomplete and untimely information/data to the NCAAC's inquiries" and irresponsibly spending $250,000 on a law firm, search firm and communications firm that was involved in the process.
10TV asked board members about the no confidence vote after the district held a "meet the finalists" community forum.
“We also respect the thoughts and opinions of all of our community members, “said Vice President of the Board Christina Vera. “That's why we were so focused on making sure that we've had community input, that we had the survey opportunity, that we hosted these forums.”
CCS says 31 candidates submitted applications to the search firm, Ray and Associates, after a nationwide search.
The school district said each candidate was screened by the board's search firm based on the candidate's experience, background and input from the community and board.
Afterwards, the firm identified nine candidates the district said best aligned with the board's and the community's criteria. The board interviewed all nine candidates through Zoom and six semi-finalists were named. Three finalists were announced last week:
- Dr. Angela Chapman from Columbus, Ohio
- Dr. Brian McDonald from Pasadena, California
- Dr. George (Eric) Thomas from Minneapolis, Minnesota
To learn more about each candidate click here.
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