Since joining the Board I have heard again and again from various folks about Dr. Hatrick's many secretaries. Their number seems to have become something of an urban legend around Loudoun, and last week I received the most extravagant estimate yet. The letter stated in part that Dr. Hatrick: "has five assistants who also make almost $200K."
My guess is that TG will be the first of "Dr. Hatrick's many assistants" to read this post, I hope she rolled her eyes and laughed at the italics above. Informants tell me that TG reads my blog faithfully.
I think what happened is that my gentle correspondent heard about the five Assistant Superintendents (who are well paid but not out of line with their level of ability, responsibility, education and career accomplishment) and mistook this for five "assistants to the Superintendent." Nonetheless, it was this general feeling that the front office is overstaffed that supported the mistaken statement.
For the record three secretaries work in the Superintendent's office, but so do the division counsel, the Deputy Superintendent and the Clerk of the Board. So TG, along with TF and KD, manage the avalanche of paperwork, correspondence, phone calls, meetings and forms that these three guys both generate and attract every day. They also provide a lot of assistance to the School Board members, who have no staff except CC, who also works in that office. CC is the Board Clerk, a position that we actually vote her into each January.
If you walk into the Admin building, the Superintendent's office is on the ground floor. If you look for a phone number at LCPS Admin, the Superintendent's office is the first one listed after the reception desk. This is an extremely accessible office. Result: in addition to the Superintendent, the Deputy Superintendent and the division counsel, TG, TF & KD work for a lot of the parents of Loudoun County.
On snow days (and especially days that should have been snow days for the west or shouldn't have been snow days for the east), when a crisis happens, when people get upset about one thing or another, it's TG, TF & KD that serve as the LCPS first responders. No matter how many angry people they have heard from in a day, I have never heard an unkind word from them about anyone. TG, TF & KD are responsible for ensuring that appeals are answered in time, that parents have the information they need in the toughest circumstances, that children's confidential information is kept that way. They keep the Board informed and on task, help disoriented parents who need answers and act as a de facto switchboard for the whole dang school district.
If you think that there should only be two secretaries, or one, or none working in that office, you're free to do so. At least now you know the real number. I hope you also now know that TG, TF & KD are an important part of your child's education and well-being at LCPS.
I hope they know how much we appreciate them.
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