I’ve been following the story of outgoing Portland Schools Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk with great interest (“The Caulk years: Many reforms, more outreach, a few missteps,” June 29).

Is there anything he could be leaving for, other than big challenges awaiting elsewhere? Surely couldn’t be the $103,000 increase in pay; that would motivate no one.

Hey, get a clue, Portland boards! Going through all of these expensive and time-consuming nationwide searches to hire presumed “rock stars” is a losing proposition.

Yeah, you might get someone marginally better (whatever that means) than a local person, but that rock star is interested in Portland mostly as a steppingstone to something better and more lucrative somewhere else far away in just a short time. Their careers are one job after another, all the while increasing their prestige and pay.

How about looking for the best local, or at least regional, person – someone who has strong family and professional ties to Portland, and who is willing to spend 10 or 15 years putting out his or her best effort for the city?

I submit that a person like that would far more likely to result in continuity, and that is far more valuable than having someone who is a rock star.

Erik Bartlett

Casco