On pointing fingers and assessing responsibility

There's been quite a bit of talk about "pointing fingers" and such in the recent kerfuffle at the Worcester Public Schools. Now that everyone (two T&G lead editorials, two columnists, an article nearly every day this week, plus coverage from WoMag) has weighed in, here's a few things I'd add:

• It isn't over, and it shouldn't be. Budget hearings start next week. We all recognize that this is an election year--all of the School Committee seats are up this fall--and it will be a topic then, too. This has to do with use of both money and power, and both are up for discussion and debate over the next few months.
  
• It seems clear from the coverage that both Worcester Magazine and the Telegram have given this that Superintendent Loughlin eliminated the office manager position, and then asked that her office manager be found a job elsewhere in the system. The interm superintendent had said that she would save the school department $500,000, and she started, rightly, by looking within her own office. The problem is that she wanted it both ways: she wanted to be tough and cut money, but she didn't want to fire someone. As head of the school system, though, that's part of the job. Why the Worcester Public Schools owe someone a job will truly be a mystery to any teacher who has been laid off within the past few years.
  
• When asked to find her a job, Human Resources went for a classroom position. How it is possible that we have a Human Resources department in the school system that has a total disregard for the requirements of teaching is beyond me. NOT EVERYONE CAN TEACH. Not everyone should. And even those who want to must meet certain requirements. This was not the basic operating principle of the department, and that's appalling.
• It's also clear that every effort was made to make this position pay as well as possible: credit for time in the office, long day pay. How on earth is this fiscally responsible?

We have then a superintendent who doesn't want to make the cut herself, and an HR department that doesn't regard teachers as more than a slot to fill and has an utter disregard for fiscal responsiblility.

There's a difference between so-called "finger-pointing" and assessing who's responsible. We still have some responsible parties who haven't been held accountable.