The Morning Report
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San Diego Unified Superintendent Terry Grier said that rumors of his interest elsewhere are greatly exaggerated: He is not looking for a new job anywhere, he said, though he has gotten calls about jobs “again and again,” including a call about the top post at the Austin Independent School District.
“I got a call about the Austin job and I made it very clear that I wasn’t very interested in Austin,” Grier said, though “it is a nice community.”
“I said I wanted to be here for the long haul,” he added. “I still feel that way.”
The November election of two new school board members with backing from the teachers union has fueled speculation that Grier could face an uphill battle in unrolling his reforms, many of which have been opposed by the union, and might be looking for greener pastures. Parent blogger Paul Bowers wrote that the teachers union “will be expecting a return” on their spending to help elect the trustees: “And first among those many returns will be the head of Superintendent Terry Grier on a spike.”
Grier sounded remarkably mellow in light of that grisly metaphor.
“I’m enjoying working with the new board,” he said. “They are very dedicated to children. They are very interested in the district improving and getting better. So far my perception has been that they want staff treated fairly and equitably. That’s the same thing I wanted.”