Covington goes from hero to zero
Yael T. Abouhalkah
The old story about Superintendent John Covington: He’s brilliant. He’s essential. He’s turning around the Kansas City School District and its kids.
The new story: He’s a double-crosser. He’s damaged goods. He failed the Kansas City School District and its kids.
Yep, Covington has gone from a hero in KC to a zero here, with the news that he’s now the new chancellor of Michigan’s Education Achievement System, an attempt to improve the state’s low-performing schools.
Just two days ago, Covington stunned everyone in KC by saying he was resigning. The reason: problems with school board president Airick Leonard West.
Covington fooled board member Arthur Benson, his biggest supporter on the board, enough that Benson actually resigned along with Covington. By Friday, Benson was backpedaling furiously, accusing Covington of, essentially, lying to him about whether he had been looking for a new job.
Benson’s credibility on the board, however, has dropped pretty low, considering he wanted West to resign if that would help bring back Covington.
The result: Covington gets a new job.
The board will be polarized for weeks if not months.
And the kids? Oh, yeah, the kids. They will be poorly served by the actions of all the supposed adults in the room.
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