CASD board says it wants ‘to cast as wide a net as possible’
The Coatesville Area School Board will engage the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) to lead the district’s search for a new superintendent, Board President Neil Campbell said Saturday in a news release.
Board representatives and staff will meet with CCIU leaders on Oct. 22, to outline a selection process. “We are pleased to work with the CCIU team on this important initiative. We want to cast as wide a net as possible in seeking out qualified candidates capable of leading our district forward,” Campbell said.
The news release comes in the wake of public furor over the discovery that former Superintendent Richard W. Como and former Athletic Director James Donato had exchanged a series of derogatory text messages that demeaned blacks, women, and assorted ethnicities.
Campbell also announced that next week the school district will host a voluntary forum for administrators to be led by Dr. Joan Duvall-Flynn, the Educational Committee chair from the Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP Branch. The goal of the forum is to help the district create a learning environment that is conducive for students, parents, teachers and staff to feel safe, calm and productive, the release said. “The NAACP has agreed to work with the district and the community and next week’s forum is just the first step in that process,” Campbell said.
In addition to the NAACP, the district is working with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission on a plan to foster discussion among parents, students, school officials and community leaders and to implement training and institute other policy changes that can help the school district and community heal and move forward, the release said.
The same Joan Flynn that taught in West Chester SD ?????
Dr. Joan Duvall-Flynn — Five Stars.