The announcement dispatched by Dallas ISD a few minutes ago about the restructuring of Superintendent Mike Miles' top staff describes it as "a reorganization of the district's academic operations" that will give four current mid-level administrators a chance to prove themselves at the top.
Miles is quoted as saying he's "thrilled to have such strong candidates inside the district" and that he felt it "important to diversify the senior administrative team with internal talent that has served the district with distinction."
It's a bit further down the page that DISD breaks the real news: Two more of Miles' cabinet members, Chief Talent Officer Charles Glover and Chief of Operations Kevin Smelker are leaving the district.
Glover, who came from Teach for America, will take a job with an outfit called Bellwether Education Partners. Smelker, who followed Miles to Dallas, will be retiring and moving back to his home and family in Colorado.
The good news for Miles is that neither Glove nor Smelker appear to be the target of a federal criminal investigation, a la former Chief of Staff Jerome Oberlton, who was indicted on charges of receiving kickbacks in Atlanta earlier this month. The bad news is, Miles' cabinet has lost its doors, shelves, hinges and most of its content in recent months.
We all remember Jennifer Sprague, of course, the communications chief who gave up $180,000 so she could explore other career paths. Oberlton's would-have-been predecessor, Leonardo Caballero, decided to stay in Beaumont. His actual predecessor, former interim superintendent Alan King, resigned after apparently concluding he didn't want to work in Miles' administration. The chief financial officer, Rene Barajas, quit in April after just three months on the job. For the sake of space, we won't even delve into the assistant superintendents and executive directors who were forced out or lured elsewhere.
This all makes it look like Miles is at sea in a sieve, but it's not like his entire cabinet has abandoned ship. Chief Academic Officer Ann Smisko and Chief of School Leadership Sylvia Reyna are still on board. At least for now.
