When things go bad Vallas blames everyone else and then runs away. The Philadelphia story.
Paul Vallas has held a lot of jobs, mainly running schools.
That is interesting since one job he never had was as a teacher in a public school. When Mayor Daley put him in charge of CPS he had no background in education. He came from the job as Daley’s budget director.
Having no background in education is also true about his most recent announced supporter, Arne Duncan. Daley gave Duncan the number two job at CPS under Vallas and then got the better office when Daley pushed Vallas out.
I don’t believe that being a public school teacher is a requirement to run a school district if only Vallas had other skills and a progressive vision for education.
Even if he was just a good manager.
Vallas had neither a progressive vision nor was he a good manager.
The truth is that his vision for public schools was to privatize them and he was also a shitty manager.
Check Vallas’ resume and you will see he was Philadelphia schools CEO from 2002 to 2007.
Vallas preferred the title “CEO” over “superintendent” so as to emphasize his managerial skills and his business acumen.
CEO has now become the popular title for large urban school districts.
Charter schools grew under the Vallas Philadelphia tenure.
Vallas also gave schools away to private providers including 45 schools to Edison Schools Inc., a for-profit firm.
The Accountability Review Council, an independent body monitoring school improvement in Philadelphia, found that there "little evidence" that the academic gains made by the six companies running 41 city schools warranted the continuation of additional funding being paid to the managers.
The companies, including the for-profit Edison Schools Inc., received $90 million over five years.
By the end of the Vallas era his managerial weaknesses became apparent when the district was faced with a “surprise” $73 million deficit
It was Vallas’ failure as a manager that led to his being forced out as Philadelphia schools CEO.
Vallas fled town, even skipping his School Reform Commission farewell.
"The first two years you literally get to do just about anything you want. You're a demolition expert," Vallas told the Philadelphia Inquirer after his departure.
"By year four, there's a lot of people walking around pissed off because you're getting so much credit for it. And by year five, you're chopped liver.”
What Paul Vallas is really good at is blaming everyone else for his failures.
Is Chicago looking for a privatizing demolition expert to run the city?
Would he even finish his four years?
Said Vallas, "I promise more than I can deliver, absolutely. . . . If I promise 10 things and deliver six or seven, I'm still ahead of the guy who promises two things and delivers one."