On 4/01/09, Karen M. wrote:
> He's just been appointed our next superintendent. What
> can you tell me about him? Thanks.

I am not from Providence but I am in Rhode Island. I do know
that the major reason he left was that the school committee
was upset with children stuck for hours on a school bus in a
snowstorm. Now some of the blame could be laid at his feet
for this as in retrospect he should have cancelled school for
the day. However, other superintendents did not cancel
either. Evans followed the procedure that had worked in
Providence for years. However, this time events combined to
form the perfect storm that bottlenecked the city for hours.
Buses picked up some children and got stuck in traffic and
the bus company had no idea where they were. The bus company
did not supply the drivers with any means to reach the depot
and if the bus driver did not have a cell there was no way to
contact the depot or for the depot to contact them. Other
buses never showed up at the schools and parents stuck in the
traffic took hours to get there to pick up their child. The
city gridlocked as with accidents at major intersections the
plows could not get through, people and cars got stuck, and
traffic backed up all over.
It wasn't a large storm as the roads were clear and school
started on time the next day, but it caused huge problems.
The storm led to Evans not seeking to renew his contract and
the states emergency management officer resigning.

Most of this was not, in my opinion, Evans fault. He relied
on the judgement of those who have weathered many storms in
the city and this time they were wrong.

Would he have stayed and been renewed if the snowstorm had
not occured? My answer is probably yes. The storm and its
aftermath just brought out everyone and anyone who had a
grievance and caused Evans to not seek to renew his contract.

The new Providence superintent cancels fast. He does not want
a repeat performance.

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