Editorial: School board shouldn't have rushed

Lima Schools will lose its biggest cheerleader and one of its best superintendents in the history of the school with the retirement of Karel Oxley. She has guided the district through tumultuous times while remaining remarkably upbeat and always being a booster — for the district, for students and staff, and for the city of Lima itself.

Oxley, 61, announced Thursday night that she will retire at the end of June, capping 40 years in education. She came to Lima in 2002 as assistant superintendent, after working with the district as a regional facilitator for eight years with the Ohio Department of Education. Oxley became superintendent a year later — and it has been an eventful 10 years. Her term began as the district was finishing a $100 million-plus building and renovation project. The district has since transitioned to the small schools concept at the high school level. There has been marked improvement in state testing scores and the district now is undergoing another reorganization to deal with ongoing challenges.

The Lima school board found the right person to face these challenges in Oxley. She ended up coming from within the Lima system — as the current board is doing with Assistant Superintendent Jill Ackerman — but it hired Oxley from a large field of applicants. Such competition brings a variety of experience and ideas, benefitting the district and whichever candidate ultimately lands the job. In the case of Ackerman, who is very well qualified, board members appeared to have their minds made up as soon as Oxley officially announced her retirement.

We question making such decisions without looking at other applicants. The practice of selecting an internal candidate without conducting a search is something we're seeing more often with school superintendent openings. New Bremen did the same thing last week, interviewing only middle school Principal Howard Overman before hiring him as superintendent. The Pandora-Gilboa school district interviewed only elementary school Principal R. Todd Schmutz before offering him the superintendent's job last March.

In all three cases, but certainly in Ackerman's, the districts hired qualified educators with solid school careers. But no one can say for sure that the districts hired the best candidate. It may be convenient and saves the time and cost involving a search, but it potentially shortchanges students and district taxpayers alike.

The Lima school district has had some relatively recent and unpleasant experience with noncompetitive hiring. The board in 1998 made a superintendent of Treasurer Michael E. Kineer, though his limited educational experience included only two years of handling school finances. His time as superintendent was marked with problems, though the board unanimously chose him, and he left after only a couple years.

Ackerman, 46, has been with the Lima school district for 24 years, starting as a special-education teacher and working her way up through administration positions since. She and Oxley have worked closely, so one has to assume the board was looking for a continuation of Oxley's work.

Ackerman might well be the best person to implement that, but that's something we'll never know. Nor will Lima school district taxpayers and board members know what other candidates — perhaps those who also successfully have run urban districts — might do differently, even better, for the Lima schools.

Competition would have allowed board members and the public to consider different visions for the future. It would have forced Ackerman and other applicants to put their best ideas forward to earn consideration for the job. Instead, the board members — Saul Allen Jr., Cat Kouns Born, Michael Ley, C. Ann Miles and Dennis Williams — did the easy thing.

Four of those five board members began new terms at Thursday's meeting. We hope future hiring decisions don't follow the same path.

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• Editorial: Time for Elida schools to move forward