After serving on and even chairing some dysfunctional search committees for new college faculty, I jumped at the chance to see how my local school district selected a new middle school principal. For starters, they allowed one community representative on the selection committee. After serving, I can't see how that policy can continue.

I arrived on Day 1 at the requested time to find 6 pre-selected candidates and only 20 minutes to peruse their resumes. I was 1 of 8 on this committee, though this committee was only half the full committee. Candidates were asked similar questions by another group of stakeholders.

As a parent and a taxpayer, I'm a stakeholder, but the committee largely consisted of people who would call the principal boss. Only in education can you hire your own boss.

Three candidates were worth mentioning, though not for the same reasons. The "outsider" gave an example of how he worked. A state report came in duplicate and he asked the principal what the school did with the reports. "We put one on the shelf over there and give the other to the department chairs," the principal said.

The candidate, working as the Assistant Principal, did as he was told. When he brought the report to the department chairs he asked what they did with it. "We put it on the shelf over there," one of the chairs answered, pointing to a shelf with stacked reports.

The candidate, let's call him “the Natural,” took the report, reviewed it, downloaded data into Excel and massaged the data until he found some meaningful information about student success. He sought among the faculty a willing ear – someone who said “It takes me 3 days to do what you can do in a few mouse clicks” - and suddenly he had “buy in.” One department after another, when presented with a simple way to personally analyze their programs strengths and weaknesses, did so.

The contrast of the Natural with the insiders could not have been more stark. The “young insider” eventually got the job, despite the only question she had for the group: “Will my past year count toward tenure if I take the promotion?” The “old insider” had a pat answer for every situation. “We'll get together and talk and create some structures to handle it.” After 10 years in the district, no one had taken her aside and explained a “track record” is more than a list of job titles. And no one really knows what the word “structures” means.

Despite the strikeout performance, the “old insider” was brought back with the others for a second interview. It turns out – she admitted in the interview – she got her present job because she knew the former Superintendent. Plus, she'd had 10 years without a job change because she failed every interview both internally and outside the district. But, all agreed, she's a “nice person.”

The vetting process ended with a mass meeting of the 16 member search committee. The Natural (and that's what the Superintendent called him) was dismissed when the Director of Human Resources (a former gym teacher turned athletic director turned HR guy) said “Is there anyone we can dismiss right away so we won't have to talk about him?”

A few partisans spoke out he didn't know the culture and routine. Despite being a natural, he was an unknown. Within the first 5 minutes, both the Natural and the other Outsider were bloodied up. As the only outsider in the group, I couldn't possibly speak up enough to counter their predetermined outcome. It was going to be an insider.

As a taxpayer, I was offended. I don't want a gym teacher turned athletic director turned Human Resource Manager orchestrating a search process. Since cronyism put him in his position, he wouldn't think twice about letting the “it's not what you know, but who you know” attitude continue.

If only someone had created some “structures” to the decision-making process. A fair discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate might have led to the “natural selection.”