“Screw you guys, I’m going home!” says KC Schools Superintendent

I was born and raised in Kansas City. My whole life, I’ve never lived far out of sight of the downtown skyline. Like all KC natives, I don’t trust people who just moved here.

I’ve met Dr. Taylor a number of times I didn’t like him. I didn’t like his expensive suits and pointy shoes. I liked him even less when I learned that he resides in one of the city’s most expensive and posh residences. It turns out that Dr. Taylor was simply using this town as another stepping stone in his career, another notch in his belt.

Kansas City schools Superintendent Bernard Taylor interviewed Sunday for the vacant superintendent’s post in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

Reached Monday in Pittsburgh where he is attending a conference, Taylor acknowledged the interview but declined to comment further.

Career minded out-of-towners are one of the worst things for KC. In sports, city government and the press out-of-towners usually only work for themselves while amassing benefit from KC. At the end of the day, (considering playoff wins and overall season records) Neil Smith and Johnny Damon never did KC sports teams any good but the expertise gained in KC helped them trade up to championship teams. Similarly, the local media is comprised of nothing more than good looking, vapid and ambitious “journalists” who would like nothing more than to move on to the next bigger city and salary. Likewise, it’s distressing that many of our highest ranking city officials often come from out of town and view KC simply as an entry on their resume.

In the end, Taylor never reconciled his differences with the school bored (er board, Freudian slip) or the insane parent activists that troll every school board meeting. Taylor’s inability to build consensus will most likely be the legacy of his tenure. It’s obvious that somebody from KC, someone who knew this town and its people, might have been able to do a better job.