...decision to quit a consulting job with a company that does business with the county schools was the right one...

Dance's conflict [Editorial]

Baltimore County Superintendent Dallas Dance's decision to quit a consulting job with a company that does business with the county schools was the right one. His explanation for why he's quitting, though, is all wrong, and it underscores the importance of the school board's plan to have a private talking-to with him on Tuesday night. Here's what the board members need to tell him:
Whether he meant it this way or not, saying that he's quitting his $15,000 consulting job with the Illinois-based SUPES Academy because the issue had become "a distraction" conveys the message that the problem was not with anything he had done, but with those who would question it. The board needs to make clear to Mr. Dance that the issues involved are not trivial and that he did not exercise good judgment in how he handled the matter.
SUPES Academy provides training for school administrators who want to become principals or superintendents. Mr. Dance is one of its alumni, having received training from the company in 2011 when he was a top administrator in Houston. Upon the request of the Dance administration, the board approved a contract with SUPES on Dec. 4, 2012, to pay the company $875,000 over three years to train up to 25 prospective principals per year.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-dance-20131216,0,2685918.story#ixzz2ngEhhvAm