24 JAN 08: PHILLIPS OUT OF GAS?
If you didn't go to the library Wednesday to check newspapers, don't worry. The e-mailer who loved a recent comment in the Ledger-Enquirer will save you a trip:
The Oscar for best Sound Off goes to... To finish off the MCSD zillion dollar administration building a sculpture out front of...A 50ft Phillips Screw.... Is this to honor John Phillips or Phillip Schley?????...Maybe a 2 headed Phillips Screw...
Well, I suppose it beats a giant bottle of Phillips Milk of Magnesia....
This e-mail reached us several hours before the bombshell school news of the day - that Muscogee County School Superintendent John Phillips will retire by August 1. Perhaps a school board member told him that was the only way to get the new central administration building named in his honor.
It actually was a two-part bombshell, as Deputy Superintendent Robin Pennock revealed she will retire later this year as well. So the Muscogee County School Board will have two openings to fill -- assuming the critics don't persuade members to use the deputy's salary to buy a couple of new portables.
In a resignation letter released Wednesday, Superintendent John Phillips calls his years in Muscogee County "the capstone of my career." Aha! Columbus residents thought there was something unusual about him - and now he's made that reference to the University of Alabama.
Dr. John Phillips expressed a desire to keep contributing to public education - but said he needs to "rebalance my commitments" to spend more time with his family. That's not the rebalancing I was hearing complaints about. It was more along the lines of less to build a personal bathroom, and more to fix a boiler room.
An overlooked section of the resignation letter is worth noting. Dr. John Phillips admits he has "other opportunities, both in the public and in the private sectors...." So which upset school board member recommended him to become President of Columbus State University?
Well, hold on - WRBL reported Wednesday night that John Phillips and Robin Pennock plan to work together as educational consultants. They could stay in the Muscogee County school system and do that. That's what a graduation coach or a counselor does....
In her resignation letter, Deputy Superintendent Robin Pennock notes she's worked in education more than 37 years. She writes about seeking "new things, from scuba diving to teaching...." But if her first job was teaching U.S. history, what's really new about that? It sounds like Pennock dreams of becoming a substitute teacher in Key West.
The twin resignations were offered to the Muscogee County School Board privately, after Tuesday night's board meeting. Superintendent John Phillips may have wanted to avoid his announcement receiving a standing ovation from the Columbus NAACP.
School Board Chairman James Walker praised Dr. John Phillips for being responsive to board members. When someone told Phillips he couldn't have that communications director with a $300,000 Russell County home, he withdrew the position - well, for a couple of years.
Even school board critic Cathy Williams had nice things to say Wednesday. She said John Phillips and Robin Pennock "brought passion" to local education, and "moved the district forward." He didn't move it south toward Spencer High School, but it moved forward....
But others were in no mood to be compassionate. "Good Riddance, Dr. Phillips" read the title of an e-mail sent around the city by Columbus Council candidate Jeremy Hobbs. He claimed the Superintendent "ruined all trust the city has in this school board." So why isn't Hobbs running for the board, as some suggested last year he do? Most voters probably know the the Council doesn't run the school district.
School board member Philip Schley told WRBL he was "disturbed" by the Superintendent's resignation - and he claimed it was because two other board members "badgered and harassed him for months on end." So? That sort of treatment didn't stop President Bush from running for a second term.
Philip Schley might want to get used to public badgering - because he's already getting some, such as the e-mail above. I'm hearing there might even be a recall campaign against him. After all, if he's not in Schley County where he belongs....
After thinking it over, I can understand why the Muscogee County Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent would leave together. A new Superintendent will want his or her own top assistants. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue probably wanted that - and yet Mark Taylor wound up running against him in 2006.
But let's face it -- the timing of these two resignations does seem a bit suspicious. It follows a lot of debate about the cost of a new administration building. The way it looks now, the plaque in the foyer is more likely to have the name of Seth Harp than John Phillips.
So who should replace Superintendent John Phillips in Muscogee County? The school board doesn't have to look far for some worthy candidates....
+ Guy Sims is still in town, spending his days helping low-income people. A $12 million cut in the cost of an administration building would buy a lot of meals.
+ Thomas Hackett used to be Phenix City's Superintendent. He's currently on the Columbus State University faculty - and he's had plenty of time to memorize the names of all the Muscogee County high schools.
+ Frank Brown is retiring from Columbus State University at the end of June. He could trade jobs with John Phillips - and it could become a reality show called "Supt-Swap."
E-MAIL UPDATE: Speaking of Frank Brown, a golden opportunity awaits all of us today....
Don't miss free cake at CSU tomorrow [Thursday] at 12:30 at the clock tower, free refreshments at the groundbreaking of the Schuster Student Success Center and free cupcakes at 5:00 at the Center for Commerce and Technology.
Woo-hoo - free food! All I have to do is stop at Publix for some samples first, and I'll have a complete lunch.
These events at Columbus State University are part of the kickoff of C.S.U.'s 50th anniversary celebration. Local churches have been asked to join the party, by ringing their bells during the afternoon. You'll understand if some hardline Baptist churches don't participate - the ones who think public colleges teach evolution everywhere, even in French class.
BLOG UPDATE: WLTZ reported Wednesday night that someone stole a giant banner from the Barack Obama campaign headquarters on Third Avenue. Was this some kind of hijinks by the Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign? Or did a homeless person downtown need something to stay warm and dry?
Meanwhile, Barack Obama is apparently the first presidential candidate to run a TV commercial in Columbus. The ad presented Wednesday night shows Obama talking about universal health care, and bringing soldiers home from Iraq. But amazingly, he never once calls Bill Clinton an annoying liar.
(It's comforting to hear Barack Obama hear at the start of the commercial that he approves of the message. Considering he's the only person who speaks in it, anything less would cost him votes.)
Now for other Wednesday discoveries....
+ The metal under the 13th Street bridge was painted on the Phenix City side. I know this because the Phenix City Riverwalk had a crude blockade set up at the bridge -- with what looked like plastic hoses on either side. I decided to limbo instead of high-hurdle, and kept on jogging.
+ Automated Door Ways opened a new office in the Bibb City neighborhood. It's located in what used to be an A&P supermarket - which reminds me of what my Mom used to say about that chain, when she worked there in the 1940's. She claimed the initials really stood for "Aches and Pains."
(A Bibb City store owner who calls herself the "Junk Lady" told WRBL the neighborhood needs a Starbucks. She apparently hasn't noticed a new drive-through coffee shop called "Back to the Grind" in the 4400 block of Second Avenue - but then again, it's so small that it looks like it was assembled by Action Buildings.)
+ A Georgia legislative hearing considered the new technology of "brain fingerprinting" for finding criminals. The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation admitted he has doubts about its effectiveness. For one thing, no evolution supporter has shown evidence that fingers grow from brains.
+ The Atlanta Falcons hired Mike Smith as their new head coach. Smith moves from Jacksonville -- so Byron Leftwich might be the starting quarterback next season after all.
+ Instant Message to the Columbus Lions: Did I hear the TV news right -- that it costs local athletes 55 dollars to try out for the team? If they make the team, do they get a rebate after the first game? And do you beat the federal government, by including interest?
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