By Trevor TenBrink
EAGnews.org

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – In the Clay County school district, the superintendent and the school board are elected representatives of the people.

But it seems as if Superintendent Charlie Van Zant takes that to mean that he’s somehow superior to the board members.

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According to a report from FirstCoastNews.com, Van Zant has demanded that if school board members wish to communicate with school staff members, they must go through him.

That’s a common problem in many school districts across the nation, where board members are treated in a secondary manner because they typically are not “education professionals.” In most districts the situation is even more outrageous because the elected board hires the superintendent and is supposedly the ultimate authority.

In Clay County, where everyone is elected, we have to wonder if one elected official should have the right to play gatekeeper for the others.

The superintendent’s directive has upset many members of the Clay County community, including teachers and school board members, according to the news report.

Elementary teacher Steve Richards said that he thinks the superintendent blocking access for other public officials is “ridiculous.”

Community member Carolyn Wright said “I think it is too controlling, and too much control for one person to have.”

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As elected officials, school board members should have the right to communicate with staff members. That helps them stay on top of situations and report back to the public. Relying on the superintendent for information, particularly when he doesn’t work for them, means they may only get one side of any particular story.

How can board members be expected to rely on one person for information when that person is not accountable to them?

Van Zant insists that he never actually issued the directive, and claims he is just trying to save staff valuable time by keeping them from having to answer to more than one official.

The school board and Van Zant have been at odds ever since his election in the fall, according to the news report, and it doesn’t look like the relationship will be improving any time soon.

Perhaps it’s time for the citizens of the district to rise up and let their elected officials know how each of them is expected to function in this unique and confusing situation.