January 31, 2017, by Huntsville United

First and foremost, we offer our congratulations and support to Dr. Akin as the next superintendent of Huntsville City Schools. An experienced educator, he has the skill set to address the academic needs of the district. During his televised board interview, he connected with members of the audience from all corners of the city. The feedback offered the board from both the community and the staff of Huntsville City Schools was overwhelmingly positive. We wish him and the board success in developing and implementing a vision to move our school system forward.

Huntsville City Schools was in an enviable position of having two outstanding candidates – consensus candidates with broad stakeholder support. Many community members publicly vowed support of either candidate.

So the petty machinations that took place Monday afternoon and evening were doubly reprehensible. Beyond the obvious damage to Dr. Perera, one of the consensus top two candidates, the unsubstantiated allegations against Dr. Perera make Dr. Akin’s task of rebuilding community trust harder. It was unfair and harmful to both candidates. It was unfair and harmful to the community.

The reputation and standing of the Huntsville City School System have also been damaged. There is a shallow pool of experienced superintendents – the next time the board needs to search for a superintendent, potential candidates considering applying will take the mistreatment of Dr. Perera into account.

These machinations, leaks and failed leadership harm all stakeholders, students, our children and our city – they make Huntsville appear provincial and small. Aren’t we better than this?