Ackerman's exit

LIKE A LOT of other people in San Francisco, we wish outgoing school superintendent Arlene Ackerman would agree not to cash her $375,000 severance check. But frankly, this isn't the most important issue in the district right now, and activists and board members ought to start focusing on the real priority: getting the lame-duck school chief out the door and finding her replacement.

Ackerman is required to stay at the helm for at least another six months to be eligible for her severance, and she's announced that she plans to remain through June 30, 2006.

That does nobody any good. A superintendent who has made it clear she's unhappy and won't be around much longer can't be a leader. She needs to leave right away, and if the six-month waiting period is holding her back, the board should waive it, give her the money, and ask her to leave in 30 days.