THUMB AWARD Farewell to Fridia

Thumbs up to DISD Deputy Superintendent Otto Fridia for having the good sense to retire from his posi-tion effective January 31, 1988. Fridia could have laid low during the months that he served as interim superintendent before the arrival of Dr. Marvin Edwards in June. But he didn’t; he infuriated teachers by charging that their appraisals are “inflated,” and alienated parents by proposing to cut bus service for the magnet schools. Fridia had already burned his bridges with a number of school board members who view him as willful and intransigent. All in all, if Edwards is to cut loose and push for reform, Fridia is a noose around the neck he can’t afford.