You can't fix stupid, the administrator version

I was selling tickets for an event at our theater this week - you know one of those extra duties as assigned things they stick in your contract.

A group of parents were there to volunteer - parents that we see at the school all of the time because there is not much parent involvement. There has always been a list we work off of so that a parent gives us a name and we let them in if their name is on the list.

New administration didn't like the idea of a list so instead a certain number of tickets (determined by the admin) are given to the teacher in charge to dole out to the parents. Well, these parents had not gotten their tickets because the teacher in charge hadn't picked them up and we were told to tell the parents to buy a ticket so they could volunteer.

Right.

So the parents asked to speak the admin who dithered around and blamed the teacher for not getting the tickets. Dithered some more. Talked to another AP. Dithered some more. The principal came by. I explained the issue. He never acknowledged the parents. He talked to the AP. Wandered over and talked to somebody else (totally unrelated to this) and walked back past me and never acknowledged the parents.

Did I mention there is not a lot of parental involvement in this school?

AP comes back, sighs deeply and says he will go get more tickets from the office and disappears for about 10 minutes. While the parents wait.

Then he carefully hands out the tickets and leaves.

There were several solutions that were so much better. Wonder if we will see those parents volunteering again.