Press: Parting wasn’t sweet sorrow

The editorial in today’s Coeur d’Alene Press comments on the recent split between the Coeur d’Alene School and Superintendent Matt Handelman:

Matt Handelman got what he wanted: A good academic administrative job in Washington.

And the Coeur d’Alene School Board got what it wanted: Matt Handelman getting a good administrative job in Washington.

Everybody said all the right things after Friday’s closed-door special meeting of the board of trustees. Handelman was very proud of his four-year tenure at the helm of Kootenai County’s largest school district, and the board was very grateful for his service. But the idea that a love fest was regrettably finally ending, and that tears would be shed on either side, would be untruthful.

By many accounts, Handelman’s strength is on the academic side of the equation, and not the administrative side. His keen insight into curricula and the respect he garnered with many educators and parents was offset by serious deficiencies as the district’s CEO. The most egregious shortcoming was Handelman’s difficulty buying in to what the locals were selling. More here.