Hairston Challenges Critics, Hints at Their Racist Motivations
Outgoing Baltimore County Public Schools superintendent says he stands on facts while critics argue from emotion and were never right.
Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston discussed his 12-year tenure on Friday and hinted that unnamed critics of his administration may have been driven partially by racism.
"It's not about Joe Hairston," the superintendent said, referring to himself in the third person. "You have a superintendent who happens to be Joe Hairston who had enough insight and vision to understand what was needed here for our children. I'll take the hits and the sacrifice if our children are going to be successful.
"Anyone who wants to personalize that, they're the ones with issues and I think you need to address with them," he added. "I didn't create enemies, I mean I didn't declare enemies out there. I don't write newspaper articles. I don't attack people. I simply do my job."
The outgoing superintendent made his comments during a nearly one-hour news conference in which he discussed his decision to not seek a fourth four-year contract. Hairston publicly confirmed his intentions at a board of education meeting Tuesday, confirming a story first reported by Patch a week earlier.
Hairston has spent 43 years in education including 23 in the role of superintendent at various school systems including Baltimore County and Clayton County, GA, before that—a county he referred to as "segregationist community."
During his news conference at school headquarters Friday, Hairston said the public should not have been surprised about his decision because he discussed leaving in a 2010 Baltimore Sun article.
"This decision to move on and to retire didn't just happen based on an announcement recently," Hairston said Friday. "You'll see in your board packet, in an article last year, that I publicly stated that I did not intend to seek another term. I didn't ask for another term—that's a four-year term. There's no such thing as a renewal or extension of a contract. The board would be in an illegal status to try and give me a partial contract or a two year contract."
The article, dated March 24, 2010, contains only a paraphrase of Hairston saying "he's unlikely to seek another term when his contract is up in two years."
In the end, he said, the announcement had been in the works since last year. He chose Tuesday because it was the same day as a scheduled board meeting.
He said it came down to asking himself one question.
"I have to ask myself, what else is left in your life that you need to do," Hairston said. "There's not an awful lot of time left in life and there are no guarantees in life."
Those plans may not include a full retirement for Hairston, who will be 65 when his contract is up on June 30. He hinted at the possibility of entering some form of education consulting.
"I have some personal advisers, career advisers who take a personal interest in Joe Hairston that goes back to my days at Virginia Tech," he said. "Actually, they advised me to leave six years ago. They know there are opportunities for experienced superintendents. We know the face of education, the entire business of schooling in America is changing. There are as many alternatives to traditional education now than ever before ... There will be a need for someone to train and prepare for the next wave of leadership in education. Opportunities are out there."
Hairston spoke about unnamed critics who he said have complained about his policies and work over the last decade.
"Those people who were knocking everything, you need to go to them and hold them accountable and ask them for evidence," Hairston said. "I have evidence of everything I am saying and can be supported. What they are talking about is how they feel. They’re two different things.
"I'm pretty much a down to earth guy. I work hard. I think that tends to rub people the wrong way. It's not that I ignore them but I am focused on what I have to accomplish on behalf of the citizens of Baltimore County and that's with children not adults with their own attitudes and personalities."
Legislators have complained that Hairston is difficult to work with and some times unresponsive to their concerns. Teachers and education activists have criticized Hairston over the controversial grade and achievement-tracking program commonly known as AIM. Others have raised concerns about the appropriateness of increasing the number of administrative staff, including a new deputy superintendent who is paid $214,000 while 200 teaching positions were being eliminated.
When asked if there was any specific criticism that he felt was unfair, he replied:
"Just about everything you see in print," Hairston said, adding later that there were no criticisms he ever thought had merit or changed his way of doing anything.
The audience, made up mostly of school board members, school system employees and supporters of Hairston laughed.
Hairston said the personal attacks "aren't that unusual for me."
"Some times you try to take the high road and not react to it and then you hope it will go away and the next thing you know they hit you again and they just keep coming and coming," Hairston said, adding that he had a similar experience as superintendent in Georgia.
"I went through something very similar there because they spend more energy trying to discredit my presence and the purpose for me being there as much as acknowledging the fact that we were trying to get something done for children," Hairston said.
He added that the board that hired him to run the county school system "told me you're going to be dealing with the same kind of thing when you come to Baltimore County. Because we're dealing with change, we're dealing with cultural attitudes. The only difference is Baltimore County is much more sophisticated. Certainly more diverse."
When asked if he thought there was racism in Baltimore County he held up a copy of Antero Pieteila's book Not in My Neighborhood and exclaimed: "Chapters 14, 15 and 16. Read it. Are you reading this?"
Hairston said he leaves with his head high because of a long list of accomplishments. Listed among those are the highest graduation rate for African American males in school systems with at least 100,000 students; over 50 percent of county high schools are in the top seven percent in the country; and a technology partnership with Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin.
"Our students do not look at themselves as different," Hairston said. "They are all Baltimore County students and that is why we have been able to close the achievement gap."
Hairston said his core values enabled students and educators in the county to succeed.
"I model the human condition," Hairston said. "I have no enemies that I make. People want to make me their enemy because I am uncompromising in integrity. I am uncompromising in my core values. I am uncompromising in my personal commitment to serve the citizens of Baltimore County on behalf of the children."
When asked about recent reported dips in graduation and SAT rates along with a slight increase in the dropout rate, Hairston attributed those statistics to changes in reporting.
"Changing calculation, plain and simple," he said. "Nothing unique about that at all. The way it was calculated, the way we report it, the formula has changed."
He brushed off a reporter's attempts to challenge his assertion.
"You go to where you need to go to deal with that," he said, answering the last question of the news conference. "I'm not here to debate the issue."
mcgillicuddy
7:12 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
It sounds like he was fishing for someone to ask him to stay.
Baltimore County Parent
7:46 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
"You go to where you need to go to deal with that...I'm not here to debate the issue." That comment sums up his attitude toward anyone with concerns about his policies, decisions, or behavior. THAT's EXACTLY what rubs the public the wrong way.
Baltimore County Parent
8:45 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
"You go to where you need to go to deal with that." -- Is that not a euphemism for telling someone to "go to hell"? What exactly is he trying to say there?
John
10:44 am on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Agreed!
Tim
8:17 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Nothing more pathetic then playing the race card as a crutch for people criticizing him and/or his work. His work stands for what it is, whether you like it or not.
We already have enough morons in this country who still find race an issue of some sort. We don't need our educators contributing to this intellectual plague.
tyrone
12:35 pm on Sunday, October 16, 2011
What is your experience with race problems in this country? Do you as a person of privilige( White) determine what is racist? If you are a male, can you tell a women what it is like to give birth?
Tim
8:00 pm on Sunday, October 16, 2011
tyrone: What I can tell you is I see everyone as an equal until they demonstrate otherwise. I lived right off Branch avenue in Temple Hills (Northeast DC) for 6 months while I worked for the IRS down at Oxon Hill.
It's not privilege that allows me to determine who exhibits racism, it's being able to read what people say and do. Nothing more.
I find it simply sad that human beings judge one another based on their ethnicity. I find it sadder still that the former superintendent of our school system harbors these sentiments.
I'm not going to sit here and say racism doesn't occur. I'm going to sit here and say it shouldn't. People who judge others SOLELY based on skin color or sexual orientation are contributors to a problem that should have died a long time ago.
Here's a different example: The idiot birthers who hounded our President about his birth certificate (and the irresponsible national media who gave them an avenue for it). Terrible, irresponsible, and honestly, almost disgusting.
tyrone
11:15 pm on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Tim,
You have not replied to my questions. Why is it that a white person can determine what is racist? Especially if they have not walked in the shoes of a person of color. Whether you want to belive it or not, racism is alive in this country. You mentioned about the birthers; have they ever asked former presidents for their proof of birth? Also, when has the President of the United States been disrepected public by other elected officials as often and as much as President Obama? Sadly, the whole word except some people in the United States know what it is. Look up a speech made by Frederick Douglass on Sept. 25th 1883. What he said was true than and it still holds today.
Tim
7:39 am on Monday, October 17, 2011
tyrone: Respectfully, I feel as though I did answer your question. Let me repeat.
- I said I could judge what's racist by my ability to read and understand the English language.
- I could also judge because of HIS position as lead educator of this county. He's not working for some random private industry - at that point my judgment of him would bare no relevance. You can be damn sure if Mr. Hairston were a different race, and exhibiting something along those lines, I'd be slamming him for saying as such all the same.
I do agree with you racism exists. To some extent, it goes both ways but there's no arguing where and with what race it started with. I am just saying that anyone who's inherently racist gets judged by me as being lacking in a certain human quality which is sad for this world.
That applies to all races.
Diverse
4:20 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
Unfortunately, race is still a huge issue for those who have not or refuse to embrace diversity; however, I do think the race card was inappropriately placed in this situation. I believe more people are looking at character; morals; ethics and genuine interests for the children as well as for those who work everyday to try to provide a good education for the children.
Diverse
4:23 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
To Tyrone -
I believe Tim did answer you question, just not how you wanted him to. To a certain extent racism lives in all of us; but it's how we react to that attitude that determines how our relationships with other's will be. What does women giving birth have to do with racism? Absolutely nothing. The former superintendent could have been trying to play the race card simply because he's from another era; but I totally agree with what Tim said. Racism as a whole and those who feed into it particularly the media should have ceased a very long time ago.
John
8:17 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Hairston said, adding that he had a similar experience as superintendent in Georgia. Maybe, just maybe, that's because you had the same holier than thou attitude that makes you think you're perfect, never make mistakes, and that you don't have to listen to or be responsive anyone else. In medicine, they refer to that as a "god complex". Maybe, just maybe, the issue has nothing to do with race and everything to do with attitude.
Roxane
8:36 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
Bye, bye....
Karl Pfrommer
11:11 pm on Friday, October 14, 2011
It's such a shame Joe will have to leave behind the $500,000 suite of office furniture bought for him this year at county expense. Does that sound like someone who was planning to leave? ANd he plays the race card. What a horrible role model for students.
slangwhang
5:50 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Sounds like any other bureaucrat to me. YAWN...and good bye!
slangwhang
6:00 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
$214,000 for a deputy........while 200 teaching positions are eliminated.......When will Baltmore County and others realize, they had to clear North Avenue in Baltimore City of these over paid administrators. What a waste of good public funds. . So he could have a LACKEY?
slangwhang
6:04 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
He lived off the public and is ungrateful. Not one word of thanks to the citizens.....
How amazing is that!
slangwhang
7:20 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
"You go to where you need to go to deal with that," he said, answering the last question of the news conference. "I'm not here to debate the issue."
Typical response of deflecting the TRUTH. I didn't fail! It was the big bad formula!
Good Riddance!
Kathleen Walther
8:00 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
He sits in his plush office pulling the race card, refusing to take any responsibility for the wrongs of his administration while a school psychologist at Padonia Elementary sits in his CLOSET office working diligently with our children in a school terribly overcrowded. Something very wrong with this picture!!!! Who does he blame for that blunder ??
al walker
8:32 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
hes another one that sits around and does nothing. then puts blame on someone else. oh and now tosses the race card. figures. just leave already you will not be missed.
Concerned Mom
11:52 am on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Wow- $500,000 of new office furniture and a nice comfy air conditoned office, while thousands of kids, teachers, and staff suffer in classrooms with temperatures in the 90's and humiditiy levels of 90+ and playing the race card to boot- see ya, I'm sure you will find another cushy job earning more than you deserve at the taxpayers expense.
Joan Wood
12:25 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Poor lleadership, bad policies and excessive salaries for Administrators are not RACIAL. I am offended my your comment as I am sure most people in Baltimore County. I for one am tired of the Blame Game.............it's always someone else's fault. All leaders need to do the jobs they are hired or elected to do.......when they can no longer do that said job, it's time to go. Doesn't matter what race you are!. Plenty of "whiteys" doing a bad job as well.
Diverse
4:25 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
Agreed!!!
Janet
12:34 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
He who yells the loudest is mostly likely the one who is the racist! His attitude, words, demeanor and action has shown that in the past year. The attitude of "if you don't like me, or disagree with me (what I say or what I'm doing), makes you a racist" is like beating a dead horse!
Peter Happe
12:50 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Nobody is flooding and “integrating” black nations and ONLY black nations with non-blacks and calling native blacks evil racists for opposing their replacement. This is happening in white nations and ONLY in white nations. They say they are antiracist. What they are is antiwhite. Antiracist is a code word for antiwhite.
stein
3:59 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Once again, whenever certain "peoples" are confronted with their bad behavior or failing policies such as Obama, Tony Campbell (Baltimore County Party Chairman), Michael Steele (National Republican Party Chairman), and now Hairston, they hide behind the "it must be racial motive" excuse. How convenient.
Pat Allen
4:31 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
This man has been in this job longer then he should have. Fired teachers, so he could hire people to do his work. While he took people to lunches and played golf. That is a lot of money for doing absolutely nothing. Maybe now they will get rid of the extra people he hired to do his work and find someone to actually do the job. And hire back the teachers that lost their jobs because of his lazy self. Shame on Jiom Smith for allowing this travisty to go on!!!!
Cheryl Dunigan
4:38 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
wow, not one comment supports Hairston! Must be something to that.
Ed Veit
6:25 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
I remember the 8 (1992-1999) years that preceded his arrival: site base decision making in 150 schools, no curriculum, low reading scores, the talented teachers and administrators taking early retirement, and people be placed out of their area of expertise. The place was a mess! So, how have the children done over the last 12 years? And, I attended the press conference, Dr. Hairston did not p[lay the race card, the press did. Baltimore County should simply say, "Thank you for saving the system," and allow him to happily retire.
Bart
8:21 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Ed, as much as everybody hated Berger (92 - 99), that was when my kids were in the schools. I don't remember the scores being so low, although Berger was run out also.
I really don't think that anybody will be able to make everybody happy, for sure, but I don't recall the arrogance and cronyism like we've seen with Hairston.
That and the fact he has cut teaching positions while increasing his and other upper administrators' salaries to the highest in the State, and the teachers' salaries are the lowest of the large Maryland School Systems.
I don't care about race, and I hope most others don't, either.
Phyllis Mikutaicis
5:40 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Are we supposed to care that this man is leaving? Didn't take long for him to play the race card. Good riddence.
Ed Veit
8:42 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Bart,
I know first hand the cronyism and trips and sex and gambling and other escapades of Berger--this man is nowhere close. How are the kids doing now?
roger dorn
9:01 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011
Ed, you obviously hate Mr. Berger, probably because he made you accountable but we'll leave that one alone for a while. Please list for me the initiatives that were started by Mr. Berger that have been repealed, overturned or changed. I think if you look not so deep you'll find the NONE of those initiatives have been altered since he departed. He may have shaken up the system and he did, but it needed shaking up,sorry if you were part of the old guard. Mr. Hariston overstayed his welcome, made a lot of money and leaves with opportunity in front of him. I think I'd just say thank you and go home.
Bart
8:38 am on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Thanks, Ed, the kids are fine, all out of college and on their own. Being just a parent, I had no idea of those other goings-on. The press makes a difference in all our lives, uncovering thos things we never knew.
JohnMarston
8:15 am on Sunday, October 16, 2011
In the Politically Correct State Religion it is OBLIGATORY to be anti-white and to support white genocide.
So-called “anti-racists” all just so happen to always advocate demographic elimination (genocide) just for white populations globally?
We all know that targeting a racial group for demographic destruction is an act of genocide……DON`T WE?
Africa for the Africans,Asia for the Asians,white countries for EVERYBODY!
Anti-racism is a codeword for anti-white
Robert Frisch
8:44 am on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Having an elected school board will not only change the manner in which the Board operates but also the way the next superintendent interacts with the public. Transparency and accountability will become the norm because this is what the voters will demand of the Board which will then expect the same from the superintendent and senior staff. Whether it is perception or reality that Dr. Hairston is aloof, arrogant, or non responsive will not be tolerated by an elected school board because the voters will not tolerate that type of conduct from Board members if they want to stay in office.
Diverse
4:28 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
Thanks for staying on the true topic.
nancy cook
9:30 am on Sunday, October 16, 2011
I'd be interested in seeing the strategic plan that the Board hopes the new Superintendent will provide for moving our school system forward for the next 10 years. An educational scout or general manager might be useful as we do in sports to identify outstanding educational leaders. I'm not convinced that our previous processes have been the best.
John
10:43 am on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Reading Joe Hairston's remarks and accusations affirms the concerns of the citizens about the last several years of his tenure. What a sad way to end his tenure in Baltimore County. The dissatisfaction with this man's service can be attributed to his mean spirit, lack of transparency, and his focus on himself over children...nothing at all to do with race. Perhaps he should look to blame those who advised him to use his position to advance their personal goals. I suppose they are concerned that they may not have the "connections" that benefit them personally. It is indeed time for a change...Dare we hope that Hairston's leaving means a break with those who have caused such chaos in the system as well?
Kathleen Walther
6:58 am on Monday, October 17, 2011
Roger,
Ed's and other's dislikes of Berger had nothing to do with his making us accountable. We were and are still held accountable daily as educators. Parents, administrators, and the general public hold us accountable all the time. Dislike for Dr. Berger had everything to do with his character, his mistreatment of outstanding teachers because they were vocal about his actions, and so much more. acid:14.1127355653@web161205.mail.bf1.yahoo.com
Randy
2:58 pm on Wednesday, July 4, 2012
What an ignorant person Joe Hairston is. Baltimore County will be so much bettter off now that this foolish man is gone. Boy, it's so easy to throw the race card around when you are deemed a lousy leader and the teachers and parents of Baltimore County will be so much better off that he is gone for good. Go S Dallas Dance and show this county how really good you are.