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Uploaded: Monday, June 25, 2012, 4:01 PM                                             

New assistant principal named at Crittenden Middle School  

by Nick Veronin
Mountain View Voice Staff

Posted by District Office Insider, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Jun 25, 2012 at 4:54 pm

Yet another who-you-know internal district office appointee who worked for the outgoing Assistant Superintendant over at Redwood City. No chance for any other internal candidates to apply. This is part of a disturbing trend. As one group retires they pack their friends in sweetheart positions. Why not just put out a sign and say "Internal Candidates Need Not Apply: We Only Appoint From the Inner Circle". Don't believe me? Do some research.

Posted by Gloria, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood, on Jun 25, 2012 at 8:08 pm

Congratulations Arline! You will be missed as the EL specialist, and Crittenden is lucky to have you.

Posted by @ District Office Insider, a resident of the Sylvan Park neighborhood, on Jun 26, 2012 at 8:12 am

If you were really an insider, you would know that both internal and external candidates applied for and were interviewed for this position.

Posted by Waiting, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood, on Jun 26, 2012 at 10:41 am

If there were interviews, this is not an appointment. Most all of my employed friends are employed because of their network connections with friends and ex-coworkers. This sort of thing happens all the time in the bureaucratic workplace as well as in the high tech work place and pretty much everywhere else. If you think there are illegal practices taking place, file a lawsuit.

Posted by district parent, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Jun 27, 2012 at 1:16 am

What happened to the existing vice-principal, Mr. Verduzco?

Posted by Teacher, a resident of another community, on Jun 27, 2012 at 6:21 am

This public job was not posted internally and there were no interviews. If there was/were, it was after teachers finished for the summer, and it was all done in secret. The appointee is a district office insider being rewarded for loyalty who has never taught in the district or held a position at any of the school sites. Great way to build community once again.

Posted by @ Teacher, a resident of the Sylvan Park neighborhood, on Jun 27, 2012 at 9:24 am

The interviews were held on the afternoon of June 12. I know people who were on the interview team. The job was posted on EdJoin prior to that date.

Posted by Bill, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Jun 27, 2012 at 2:19 pm

How long was the job posted on Edjoin? We all know that jobs can quietly be posted just to satisfy requirements and make it look above board. It certainly was not well advertised to possible internal candidates. June 12th was the last day of school and teachers were pretty busy at that time! Pretty inconvenient time to hold interviews. MVWSD is famous for making decisions as soon as it is summer vacation and there is not so much attention by the public then.

To answer someone's previous question - Mr. Verduzco who was the previous Assistant Principal of Crittenden, was passed on by the "district appointees" to take the principal job there even though he had worked there for a couple of years and before that at Graham. So he sought out a principal job somewhere else.

Posted by Steven Nelson, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Jun 27, 2012 at 4:50 pm

come on, damned if they select external (principals) and damned if they appoint internal? @Waiting has it right. This is not at all clear it is a problem. An EL specialist, if she has good connection with parents/families in the District, may be an excellent person for this promotion. If the new principal was on the interview team(??) so much the better for the selection process.

Posted by Moderator, a resident of the Willowgate neighborhood, on Jun 27, 2012 at 5:15 pm

I think the point is that this public job opening may not have been properly advertised. If a candidate is already in the district office, the candidate is selected by the district office, and the job was posted lightly then how can we be assured we are getting the best candidate? It's like announcing today there's a job opening and the deadline was yesterday. The district needs to start doing things with a lot more transparency and aforethought. It doesn't seem that complicated.

Posted by Different Teacher, a resident of another community, on Jun 27, 2012 at 5:18 pm

Bill wrote "It certainly was not well advertised to possible internal candidates. June 12th was the last day of school and teachers were pretty busy at that time! "

Teachers were notified of the opening on May 22n via district email. The email included qualifications and instructions on how to apply.

Posted by MVWSD Teacher, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Jun 29, 2012 at 9:08 pm

Everyone internally knew how to apply via email. Arline is an exceptional educator and is an amazing fit for Crittenden. The conspiracy theorists should spend their time attacking someone else. Leave the teachers alone.