The Grant School District 3 School Board has made its decision, promoting Grant Union principal Curt Shelley to be the new district superintendent. We wish him well in his new post, and anticipate that he will do a good job for the district, given his track record here.

At the same time, we’re chagrined by the hasty process the District 3 School Board used to reach this important decision.

We understand the appeal of hiring a known quantity – a proven administrator who is familiar with the community and the challenges of living on the frontier – but the board snubbed the patrons by jumping into the decision without adequate notice of its intent or full public examination of its options.

Members undoubtedly felt pressured by the knowledge that Shelley was a finalist for a superintendent job elsewhere, and would be facing a decision point within days. It was a tough call, to be sure, but perhaps one that could have been left to the job-seeker, not the hiring agency.

By skipping the search process, the interviews with candidates, and public introduction of the finalists, the board rushed the process and seemed to exclude the taxpaying public.

This is not intended as a criticism of Shelley – it’s entirely possible that the board might have gone through that process and reached the same selection. But without a more extensive hiring process, that remains only an assumption, one that lingers like an asterisk on this key district decision.

Chalk it up as a lesson: The means to the end are important, especially when doing the public’s business. District officials are beginning the search for Shelley’s successor at Grant Union, and we hope that effort will put the district patrons and taxpayers firmly back in the loop. – SC