For the first time since it was established in 1980, the Association of Supervisors and Administrators of Rochester has voted “no confidence” in a city schools superintendent. At a press conference this afternoon, Deborah Rider, ASAR’s president, said that 87 percent of its members supported the no-confidence vote against Superintendent Bolgen Vargas.
Rider cited a lack of a strategic plan, lack of instructional leadership, and lack of clear and consistent communication for the vote results. The most recent evidence of this, she said, is the lack of direction give in the roll out of the new Common Core curriculum.
Rider said that ASAR members have had concerns with Vargas’s leadership almost since he started as superintendent in 2012.
“Members thought it was time to take a stand,” she said.
Rider said that continuous changes in the district’s senior management team have been a detriment and have increased instability.
Even though the vote could inflict serious damage to the superintendent’s public image, Rider said she does not believe it will be an impediment to working with Vargas. District officials have begun negotiating a new labor agreement with ASAR. The current contract expires in June.
“We met with Vargas and board president Van White last week and it was a productive meeting,” she said. The no-confidence vote has nothing to do with contract negotiations, she said.
The union, which represents principals and administrators, has about 400 members.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2014.
Yikes! There’s a union for ADMINISTRATORS? Teacher unions are bad enough, but at least we need teachers (theoretically).
The superintendent is lost and there is no doubt the end is near. His latest push for outside “experts” to run the schools and the idea of charter schools conversions is desperate and everyone sees it. Here we go again.
Again, a craven educrat union fears any change, thinks only of itself, and lashes out. Vargas is not the greatest, but the recent history of the district indicates that unless the Politburo downtown is dismantled–and real alternatives created–another hustler will swoop in, promise the world and fail.
When your business produces a successful product 40% of the time, there is no vote of no confidence. When the leader suggest something that wrangles the sensibilities of the ADULT workers—- The Sky is Falling. Looks like union politics, walks like union politics, smells like union politics, … must be union politics. The community should be allowed to hold a vote of no confidence…. How might that work out?
Great negotiating Tactic by Asar…Contract time lets go after the only Super thats rallied to get the kids in school by going from home to home in the ghetto.He has been meeting with groups of parents on a weekly basis since he started…lets take all the RCSD children and send them to where Ryder lives and pays taxes Brighton,Pittsford or is it Webster? like she is concernd about black and latino kids?