This week’s Rhino reports on the leadership vacuum in Guilford County Schools’ facilities department. You know, the one that’s had a few construction problems over the past year or so. Everyone’s saying sayonara, with the exception of ‘consultant’ Joe Hill:

Apparently, no one wants to be the head of the facilities department. The position gives new meaning to revolving door; roughly three years ago, John Wright was the chief administrative officer (performing many of the duties of a COO), EJ Deering was the director of facilities, and Hill was the third-ranked man in the department. Deering then resigned and left the schools, Wright took a full year paid leave of absence and is now back as chief auxiliary officer (without loosing a dime of his salary) and Hill is a consultant. The responsibilities for the schools’ bond projects has also switched hands in the last year from Dave Smith, who was in charge of the $300 million bond passed by voters in 2003, to Dennis Cole.

The school board wanted to get a $440 million bond passed by voters in November 2007, but the Guilford County Board of Commissioners didn’t, and some school board members seem to feel as though they are looking down the barrel of a gun……

They should, if for no other reason than the way they botched the Jamestown Middle School project, which was used to sell the 2003 bond. This project remains a mystery to me, and I can’t get a satisfactory explanation from the media around here. Jana Benscoter goes on:

Hill said work being done at Jamestown Middle School is almost complete, but the remaining work that needs to be done will depend on when the $440 million bond is passed, as will work at Ragsdale High School. Those two projects, along with Guilford Middle School, were removed from the $300 million bond passed by voters in 2003, due to several projects that went over budget, as well as the cost of the new Smith academy, which was added.

I don’t know what work Hill is talking about, and Benscoter doesn’t elaborate. It can’t be much work, though, because it’ll take $32 million to finish. And you guessed right —-it’s on the forthcoming bond.