Radical restructuring recommended for JCPS

JCPSMagnifyingGlass

The Jefferson County Public Schools audit was released yesterday and the findings were not rosy. The short version of a long story is that the audit recommends that the central office of the district be radically restructured.

Let me state the obvious: this audit should have happened a long time ago.

Over the years there have been countless signs that something is not right in Jefferson County. The student busing debacle, consistently poor academic performance, and glossed-over, rubber-stamped superintendent evaluations all pointed toward the fact that the district was being mismanaged.

You can view a draft version of the audit and suggestions here. Recommendations include:

• Revising job descriptions within administration to make sure all essential functions are covered

• Development of appraisal tools for evaluating job performance

• Reorganizing the chain of command so that employees know who they report to

These seem like basic management functions that any large organization should have in place.

Transparency is the first step toward accountability. Hopefully this audit will shed some light on lack of structure and accountability in the state's largest school district and the district can move forward to more effectively and efficiently education Jefferson County's children.