for 18 JUL 06: LEE OVER

The Russell County School Board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Rebecca Lee Monday. So based on recent East Alabama superintendents, where do you think Lee is going now - Glenwood School or Columbus State University?

Dr. Rebecca Lee was superintendent in Russell County a bit more than two years. It may say something noteworthy about her tenure that her two biggest accomplishments were keeping the school district off the state intervention list - and the high school baseball team winning a national title.

(But we'll remember Rebecca Lee for something else - the TV announcement in which she said, "Russell County Schools IS...." Maybe this is why John Phillips hasn't done something similar in Muscogee County.)

Dr. Rebecca Lee is leaving Russell County's school district quickly. In fact, Monday was her last day on the job. I don't even think Jim Wetherington supporters want Mayor Bob Poydasheff to leave office that fast.

But even though Rebecca Lee left the superintendent's office Monday, a severance agreement with Russell County Schools means she'll be paid through October. That should make for an interesting discussion, at the high school's next Future Business Leaders of America meeting....

So why did Rebecca Lee suddenly flee? Interim Superintendent Lillian Baker said there was "tension" between the former leader and the Russell County school board. We're left wondering if it was similar to the tension between some parents and the school board - only the superintendent left faster than the board could prepare a news release about it.

One Russell County school board member told WRBL the board refused to extend Superintendent Rebecca Lee's contract two extra years. So she apparently wanted leeway, and the response was more like "Lee-away."

There was a big cloud hanging over Monday's vote which no one really wanted to talk about - the recent convictions in court of four Russell County teachers. Did Superintendent Rebecca Lee hold the school board responsible for that? Did the board hold Lee responsible? And did they notify each other within seven days, like they're supposed to do under Alabama law?

(One Russell County parent dared to tell WXTX "News at Ten" an outsider may need to clean up the schools, similar to the "Sin City" era in Phenix City. It's as if all the notorious families of 50 years ago are hiding in Pittsview and Hurtsboro now.)

Yet school board members say Rebecca Lee picked an unusual time to resign as Russell County Superintendent. After all, the new school year starts in a few weeks. The principal's position at Russell County Middle School is still open. And someone has to help Tony Rasmus recruit more baseball players over from Muscogee County schools.

Rebecca Lee's departure means Russell County has lost four school superintendents in ten years to resignations. And Interim Superintendent Lillian Baker had plans to retire in September. So much for putting a whoopie cushion in the administrators' chairs -- they may already have ejection seats.

BLOG UPDATE: We made a trip to the Columbus Public Library Monday, primarily to check on the air-conditioning system. We never thought we'd have to make such a trip - but then again, a couple of years ago we didn't think we'd make special trips to the library for deluxe brownies.

We wanted to feel for ourselves whether Monday's e-mail about the air conditioning at the main library was accurate. Yes, the CD/DVD area at mid-morning was a bit warmer than the "great circle" walkway on the second floor. But maybe the library board is about to make a deal for Energy Savers to sponsor it.

All in all, the main library is a lot more comfortable than the place where I write this blog. I depend on a floor fan redirecting cool air from a window air conditioner two rooms away. Someday I'll have to reenact a web site from the "good old days" of the mid-nineties Internet - and have a web-cam record how fast my ice cream melts.

E-MAIL UPDATE: While we're talking about libraries, let's head back to the Mildred Terry....

Richard: King o' the 'Blog:

Reason I mentioned the library, not because of modest expansion plans, but because the expansion plans seem to have gotten out of hand--from 10,000 Square feet to 18,000 square feet.

In a Tuesday, November 29, 2005 story, on page C-1, Ledger reporter Pat Gillespie reported that Claudya Mueller, Library System Director, said the Muscogee County School Board is planning a 10,000 square foot library on the same site, more than twice the of the its current 4,200 square foot facility.

How does 10,000 square feet match up with 18,000 square feet which I believe was reported recently in the Ledger. Which is correct?

It would also be interesting to know, how much "estimates for increased population are factored into the planned library".

Anyone?

Oh, now you're making me blush. KING of the Blog? I'm more the Jack of all topics - and the master of none....

Could it be that the new improved Mildred Terry Library will have two floors? That could explain all the extra space. Or then again, maybe something happened that would come as a surprise to many people in Columbus. Maybe the Ledger-Enquirer typed in the wrong number.

Let's check some other numbers, as we look quickly at Monday's other news:

+ Columbus gas prices did some strange switching. Stations which held firm at $2.71 a gallon all weekend went up to around $2.77 - but the Citgo at Fifth and Veterans Parkway actually dropped to $2.70. Which place do you think has more trouble with its fax machine?

+ WRBL reported a feasibility study for Columbus South Inc. recommends the old Baker High School be turned into a fine arts academy. This sounds like a cost-cutting move to me - with students sculpting their own sheet-rock for the walls.

+ Mike Vee returned to Columbus radio, hosting a midday sports talk show on WEAM-AM. He's on the air from 10:00 to 1:00 - but it would sound a lot cooler if the show started earlier, to be a Vee-8.

+ The University of Alabama announced the home football opener against Hawaii is sold out. I honestly never realized so many native Hawaiians live around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa....

+ Instant Message to the Georgia Lottery: What kind of a "Cash 3 Double Drop" was that? There's only about a one-in-seven chance that the "peach ball" will come up, to have a second drawing. I'm more likely to drop a peach in the produce section of the supermarket.

COMING WEDNESDAY: The winners, losers and funny stuff from Georgia Primary day (and maybe the Alabama Primary runoff, too)....

Your PayPal donations can help build a better blog, and keep it independent-minded. To make a donation, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 7270 (+ 157, 2.2%)

If you mention this blog in public, please be polite enough to let me know.

© 2003-06 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.