Dr. Duran must go

[Anonymous]

I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 the school board has given him most everything he’s asked for but APS keeps lurching from one new management problem to another. Where does the buck stop? And now we got this guy for 4 more years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 the school board has given him most everything he’s asked for but APS keeps lurching from one new management problem to another. Where does the buck stop? And now we got this guy for 4 more years.

I really really truly wanted Duran to succeed. He is so good in some ways. But he's been here long enough that he owns the problems. He has had time to fix things. He has created new problems, big ones. What is his issue? He seeems to care and have the right priorities when he talks. Is the issue that he can't manage his staff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 You hit the nail on the head. Also the board just falls all over themselves to congratulate staff. "This monitoring report was so well done!" blech.

Call out the problems, it is your job. Hold staff including the Super accountable when they fail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 the school board has given him most everything he’s asked for but APS keeps lurching from one new management problem to another. Where does the buck stop? And now we got this guy for 4 more years.

I really really truly wanted Duran to succeed. He is so good in some ways. But he's been here long enough that he owns the problems. He has had time to fix things. He has created new problems, big ones. What is his issue? He seeems to care and have the right priorities when he talks. Is the issue that he can't manage his staff?

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 the school board has given him most everything he’s asked for but APS keeps lurching from one new management problem to another. Where does the buck stop? And now we got this guy for 4 more years.

I really really truly wanted Duran to succeed. He is so good in some ways. But he's been here long enough that he owns the problems. He has had time to fix things. He has created new problems, big ones. What is his issue? He seeems to care and have the right priorities when he talks. Is the issue that he can't manage his staff?

This

I think it’s exactly that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 the school board has given him most everything he’s asked for but APS keeps lurching from one new management problem to another. Where does the buck stop? And now we got this guy for 4 more years.

I really really truly wanted Duran to succeed. He is so good in some ways. But he's been here long enough that he owns the problems. He has had time to fix things. He has created new problems, big ones. What is his issue? He seeems to care and have the right priorities when he talks. Is the issue that he can't manage his staff?

I also like him. I've talked with him and felt like he was legitimately invested in my concerns. I watch school board meetings and he seems responsive to community feedback. But agree he owns these problems now. Does he have bad advisors? Was he just not prepared to run a school district?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 the school board has given him most everything he’s asked for but APS keeps lurching from one new management problem to another. Where does the buck stop? And now we got this guy for 4 more years.

I really really truly wanted Duran to succeed. He is so good in some ways. But he's been here long enough that he owns the problems. He has had time to fix things. He has created new problems, big ones. What is his issue? He seeems to care and have the right priorities when he talks. Is the issue that he can't manage his staff?

Agree. It is staff that is the problem and he is failing to manage them and hold them accountable. I’m not saying all Syphax staff sucks. I’m sure there are some lovely people there. But there is a staggering amount of incompetence at upper levels and, ultimately, it is his responsibility to clean up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

Seriously. I need a Serial style podcast on this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

Seriously. I need a Serial style podcast on this

My guess is Murphy got himself a huge VA pension, then a WV pension, and was working on a MD pension too.

Incredibly, Duran’s COO, Mayo, may have also been involved in the records falsification scandal in Baltimore County public schools that ended with the conviction of their former superintendent.

https://davidplymyer.com/2018/09/04/baltimore-county-schools-record-purge-more-significant-than-public-realizes/

This article is long, but it indicates Mayo omitted important information from financial disclosures that were later destroyed while he was head of HR.

I can’t find any whether that was itself investigated. But Mayo has a big part in APS these days. Hiring him doesn’t show great judgment by Duran. And what a ridiculous pattern for APS school leaders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

I honestly think that the APS SB has been managed by the past couple superintendents rather than the other way around. Murphy should never have been given renewed contracts, and yet he was. He needed a handler because he didn't know how to interact with humans. Smith wasn't perfect but was solid. Duran is charismatic but unwilling to actually listen to anyone outside his inner circle, and so he has alienated the majority of staff.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

+1 the school board has given him most everything he’s asked for but APS keeps lurching from one new management problem to another. Where does the buck stop? And now we got this guy for 4 more years.

I really really truly wanted Duran to succeed. He is so good in some ways. But he's been here long enough that he owns the problems. He has had time to fix things. He has created new problems, big ones. What is his issue? He seeems to care and have the right priorities when he talks. Is the issue that he can't manage his staff?

Agree. It is staff that is the problem and he is failing to manage them and hold them accountable. I’m not saying all Syphax staff sucks. I’m sure there are some lovely people there. But there is a staggering amount of incompetence at upper levels and, ultimately, it is his responsibility to clean up.

True. Incredible that he has hired so much help and things have gotten worse.
Trenton, NJ figured it out much quicker than APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

Seriously. I need a Serial style podcast on this

I would watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never LOVED Coach Murphy, but I never took him for a falsifying records kinda guy. (That’s what it sounds like he was removed from MCPS for. Yes I’m aware we don’t know that with certainty.)

It would be interesting to know the reasons for his career path since APS. He wasn't at West VA for very long, then he essentially was demoted to an Assistant rather than a Superintendent going to MontCo.....

Seriously. I need a Serial style podcast on this

My guess is Murphy got himself a huge VA pension, then a WV pension, and was working on a MD pension too.

Incredibly, Duran’s COO, Mayo, may have also been involved in the records falsification scandal in Baltimore County public schools that ended with the conviction of their former superintendent.

https://davidplymyer.com/2018/09/04/baltimore-county-schools-record-purge-more-significant-than-public-realizes/

This article is long, but it indicates Mayo omitted important information from financial disclosures that were later destroyed while he was head of HR.

I can’t find any whether that was itself investigated. But Mayo has a big part in APS these days. Hiring him doesn’t show great judgment by Duran. And what a ridiculous pattern for APS school leaders.

Woah, I thought Mayo was terrible and that was before finding out about this. Does the Arlington press know about Mayo's connection to this? The auditor? Even the School Board (well lol I guess it's a long shot they'd do something). But SOMEONE should look into this.