Washington state schools superintendent Randy Dorn should resign immediately. He has disgraced one of the state’s most sensitive elective offices with an admission of drunken driving.
According to an Associated Press story: “In a written statement Friday, Dorn again apologized and said he decided to plead guilty to put the incident behind him and accept the consequences.”
The superintendent of public instruction entered the plea in Pierce County’s Orting Municipal Court. Judge John Curry sentenced him to 365 days in jail, but suspended all but one day. Dorn was also fined $866 and court costs, had his driver’s license suspended for 90 days and was ordered to attend two consecutive Saturdays in drug- and alcohol-awareness classes.
Dorn was arrested early March 21 about 15 miles from his Eatonville home while driving home from a crab feed and dance at Bonney Lake in rural Pierce County where he said he drank some beer, according to the news account. The Washington State Patrol said a breath test found his blood-alcohol content was 0.11 percent. The legal limit for driving in the state is 0.08 percent.
While it is admirable that Dorn chose not to follow his lawyer’s advice and fight the charge, his conduct is not acceptable.
An alcohol assessment, which Dorn said confirmed his belief that alcohol is not a problem in his life, carries no weight. Nor is his pledge that, “I will continue to work hard to move my agenda forward, especially as it relates to achieving real reform of education funding.” He also said he wants to work to earn back the public’s trust, and “for me as a career educator, this (drunken driving arrest) is a teachable moment.” He said he would “seek out opportunities to help young people learn from his mistake,” according to the news report.
Sorry, Mr. Dorn, the link of trust has been broken, and credibility destroyed.
Thousands of school children, teachers and the public at large look to the state’s highest-elected educator to be the role model for good citizenship. Drunken driving, especially when such a condition endangers others on the road, is not that example.
State misses Bergeson
An interim leader, perhaps a deputy, can be put in charge for the next eight months until a new superintendent is elected.
An ironic footnote to this sad situation is Dorn’s successful election campaign in 2008 to unseat former State Schools chief Terry Bergeson. Dorn pledged to bring reform and other changes to improve the school system in which Bergeson had worked for nearly four decades, including three terms as state superintendent and a stint as president of the Washington Education Association. At last report, a Tacoma News Tribune article in late December, Bergeson was the executive director of the San Francisco School Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to school reform. She said at the time that she was not ready to retire.
Bergeson, a scrappy and passionate advocate for education excellence, led several school changes, including development of standards and standardized tests. As one News Tribune reader commented: “One election the voters got wrong last year. Time will tell. …”
Time has passed, and it appears the legacy being built by Bergeson’s successor is not in education, but a record of drunken driving. That serves no one, least of all the office Dorn is sworn to uphold.
Contrary to other examples of misbehavior, or actions gone astray, this is not a scenario in which the culprit is given a second chance to redeem himself. Dorn is 56 years old and presumably of full maturity.
One moral mistake is one too many for a person who should be a leader in educating young minds, and guiding them to wholesome decisions.
Redemption is through the exit door. That would salvage some dignity and respect for him and his office.
The only honorable course of action for Dorn is to resign as superintendent.
Tom Koenninger is editor emeritus of The Columbian. His column of personal opinion appears on Wednesdays. Reach him at koenninger@comcast.net.
