It’s been said that great leaders rise to the occasion with an even hand, imploring others through their own example during challenging times. The most effective leaders do so much less with an iron fist, but more with a commanding spirit — most often placing personal agendas aside for the common good. Taking all of these characteristics into consideration this begs us to question — who’s leading whom on the Baldwin County Board of Education?

Anyone who witnessed what took place within the walls of our local school board office Monday evening can’t help but be dismayed and embarrassed at the public displays of ineptitude put forth by our school system’s supposed leaders. In a public facility — funded with taxpayer dollars — our school board chairman, Harold B. Simmons, and vice chairman, Wilbur Manson, stormed out of a called meeting — casting aside their elected charge at a pivotal moment when leadership was needed most — as our outgoing superintendent sat idly by and a former elected official and leader, Floyd Griffin, created a sideshow of his own as parents, teachers and even children watched it all unfold.

If there were any doubts remaining regarding where the issues surrounding our public schools derived, the speculation was resolved in the midst of Monday’s disarray: Much of the blame for our school system’s issues with teacher morale and lack of communication lie in the hands of the board members who took the stage Monday evening due to their repeated failings as leaders.

Leaders cannot lead if they aren’t in the room, and Monday, our school board’s leaders made the choice to leave the room even though they could have chosen to stay and work to resolve the issues at hand.

Monday’s meeting was the first time the five members of our school board have officially convened since accepting Superintendent Dr. Troy Journigan’s resignation. Last week, we called on board members to put an end to the behind closed door meetings, squelch the in-fighting and meet publicly and professionally — as true leaders would do. Now we realize that under the present leadership, and with a lawsuit unfolding, this simply is not possible. That’s why we call for Harold Simmons to step aside as school board chairman.

We knew that given the recent events, Monday’s called meeting would be tense, but it is these types of moments when true leadership should take charge — not walk away. Leadership often takes compromise, and Simmons has proven that he is not willing to do that. He has been unwilling to set meetings at other board members’ repeated requests — though as leader of the board he is required by the board’s own policies to do so. He has been unwilling to respond to phone calls and correspondence from his fellow board members, and also the local media. And most importantly, his recent actions bring his board member ethics into question as phone records indicate his abuse of taxpayer money and total disregard for the proper chain of command through repeated phone calls to board of education staffers before and immediately following board meetings.

What makes Monday’s actions all the more dismaying is the fact that at the close of the meeting our school system approved the hiring of one of its own — a first for an African-American woman — to take the helm as the next superintendent in what should have been a defining, historical moment. But that moment, which should have taken center stage, was reduced to a second act due to supposed leaders’ lack of decorum and professionalism. If Simmons and Manson disagreed with the motion, they could have simply remained on stage, expressed their disagreement and voted against it. But they didn’t. Instead, they, along with Griffin, only proved that the real underlying issue here has little to do with race as many cried following Journigan’s resignation — it remains instead a matter of failed leadership, swelled egos and self-aggrandizing opportunism. These are the same issues that played a hand in the crumble of Clayton County Schools as media attention swirled. Now, all eyes are on us, and it’s time for new leadership to step up to the challenge for the common good — our children — before we crumble under the same type of public scrutiny. SACS is watching, and how our school system’s leaders rise to the task at hand will determine whether we are the next Clayton County Schools.