FEATURE/Was the Fate of the New Palm Beach County School Superintendent Art Johnson Tied to the Stock Market?

Business Wire, April 9, 2001

The Movies: As if paralleling the dramatic plot points of "Gladiator," Russell Crowe's character eventually wins the hearts and minds of the citizens of Rome as well as those of his compatriots. In Palm Beach County, Art Johnson made his comeback too. Garcia's urging, along with that of a number of close friends, family and associates compelled Johnson to run for a position as one of the seven members of the Palm Beach County School Board. If he won a seat on the school board, Johnson would become Kowal's boss. Ecstatic at the prospect Garcia instantly volunteered to become his campaign manager in this election effort.

The Second Act: Fast-forwarding to the end of both the Johnson and the "Gladiator" story, Russell Crowe doesn't live to savor the glory of victory, but in South Florida, Art Johnson does. In a very close race he won the election and a seat on the Palm Beach County School Board. He was back in the system, not yet on the front line but victorious in the battle to reclaim his good name. To Johnson, equally as important, he won the hearts and minds of students he knew, the teachers he worked with and administrators he supervised.

The Third Act: In a plot directly from a movie script, almost one year after Johnson's election, he obtained the support necessary to have his antagonist fired, the person who had fired him four years earlier. When Kowal departed, the position was filled with an interim Superintendent, who announced in January 2001 a desire to leave the post early opening an opportunity for Johnson to seek the position he had aspired to for nearly a decade. Again demonstrating his progressive approach to a conservative system, Johnson agreed to take the post under terms that Kowal refused to even consider -- a compensation package based solely on performance. "This revolutionary pay-for-performance contract, the first of its kind in the nation, is classic Art Johnson," says Garcia, explaining that "Art is a true leader who would never conceive of asking his subordinates to do something that he wasn't willing to do first."

The Ending: Dr. Johnson's rise to the position of Superintendent is layered with twists and turns that would rival the political underpinnings of any Hollywood thriller. In this story, the protagonist Johnson overcomes all the obstacles and adversity, perseveres and ultimately gets the job, savors victory and lives happily ever after. In the movies, the good guys always win, and in real life they sometimes do too, in this case the storybook ending is true, just ask Art Johnson and he'll tell you so.