By now, pretty much everyone knows that Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier is leaving to become superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District.
Grier stood before county commissioners on Thursday night to push the school bond and was asked point-blank by Commissioner Carolyn Coleman whether or not he would leave us “high and dry” before they could pass the bond.
“Ms. Coleman, I came here tonight to talk to you about the bond,” Grier said with a smile.
Though Grier officially starts his new job on July 1, it’s not at all clear when he’s going to leave his position as GCS superintendent, considering the fact that the N&R reported that San Diego will pay him $1,000 per day for each day he works for that system before July 1.
As I’ve said many times before, I’ve noticed Grier is two totally different people in front of the county commissioners and in front of the school board. When making his case in front of commissioners, Grier is clear and concise abot what the school system’s financial needs, considerable as they are. In front of the school board, he makes brief efforts to spell things out for them, but most of the time he speaks educrat language which, believe it not, the board seems to have trouble grasping even more than plain language. In spite of many of his innovative programs here in Guilford County, it’s clear Grier’s just another career member of the modern educational system. My guess is the San Diego school system will “break even,” so to speak, and by the time Grier, who’s 57 now, will probably be ready to retire.
