limited by everything from Title I and other funding guidelines to the
contractual provisions of several unions.
Ms. Valletta made sure she took the five priorities determined by the
committee (with her gentle maneuvering) seriously. Even though she
never received additional funds, she tried to incorporate these priorities
into no- or low-cost strategies for the next CEP.
The bottom line with all such school committees is that only the prin-
cipal has the full vision of the school in all its aspects. The more the
principal shares this vision and all relevant information and the better she
teaches the team about the operation of the school, the greater the trust the
team will have in the principal and the more likely they are to accept the
suggestions made. So, here and elsewhere, sharing knowledge is the key.
This is a positive form of manipulation.
Principal Valletta in Manhattan High School also worked with the Aca-
demic Affairs Committee. This committee, required by the New York
State Department of Education, was composed of staff, parents, and stu-
dents, but with no required ratio. All matters relating to course accredita-
tion and graduation came under its purview. For example, this committee
decided upon the criteria for determining the valedictorian. Many schools
around the country have similar committees.
At this point, it would be useful to describe how members of this com-
mittee and others with nonelected members were determined through the
principal’s creative manipulation.
At the first staff meeting in September, Ms. Valletta gave all teachers a
committee sign-up sheet. All the existing school committees were listed.
Anyone interested in volunteering to serve on a committee indicated, in
order of preference, which committee he or she wanted to serve on. All
committees met once a month during the regular school day, so no one
would be required to stay after their regular school day. This greatly en-
couraged staff to volunteer while at the same time providing the principal
with the ability to manipulate committee membership.
Ms. Valletta checked who had signed up for each committee and
then checked teacher schedules to determine which period most of the
volunteers for each committee would have no class assignment. It was
impossible that everyone would be free the same period, so the period the
majority were free was usually made the meeting period. Sometimes, if
106 Chapter 8