School Board Round-up: snow days, superintendent contract remain in limbo

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Aside from talks about connecting to the Carlsborg Sewer System and finishing the new Central Kitchen, here are some of the recent decisions and discussions Sequim School Board directors and Sequim School Board staff agreed to and/or shared in the past month.

Make-up snow days

Sequim School District superintendent Gary Neal said on March 18 that district leaders continue to discuss options for making up six lost days due to snow in February. A survey with one question went out to parents on March 7 asking parents and staff their opinion on how to make up the snow days.

It read: “Due to the 6 snow days, the district will need to make up an average of 26 hours. Numerous calculations and conversations with OSPI, staff, community members and bargaining groups have created two options for the Sequim School District to meet the average 1,027 instructional hours required by the state.”

Options A, “Attend full days on June 14, 17, 18 and a half-day on June 19,” or Options B, “attend full days on June 14, 17, 18 and change late start Mondays from April 29-June 10 to full days.”

Neal, when asked, said parents, at about 60 percent, preferred extending the school year, while teachers at about 58 percent preferred removing the late start Mondays.

Board compensation

For the first time, Sequim School Board directors are eligible to receive some compensation for their time serving on the board.

On March 4, directors agreed unanimously 4-0, with Heather Short excused, to enact a reimbursement/stipend up to $4,800 per year for attending meetings, traveling to events and other approved miscellaneous expenses. The decision follows state law that has been in place for years.

Board director Robin Henrikson said the resolution doesn’t pay board members outright but rather “creates an avenue to be paid and compensated for your time.”

Under the resolution, board members can receive $50 for meetings attended and mileage for traveling to events.

Henrikson said this resolution may open the door for people to serve on the board with concerns about potential costs.

“We want equal representation of populations, and childcare is prohibitive,” she said. “This might allow some moms or dads to sign up.”

Board president Brian Kuh said board members can choose to file for compensation or not.

All reimbursements will be reviewed and approved by the school board.

Haller parents concerned about safety

A new group of concerned parents called the Strategic Action Committee Parent Advisory Group seeks safety solutions at Helen Haller Elementary School.

Four parents, Kelly Phillips, Lori Anderson, Robyn Bacchus and Tennille Bixby, stood before the school board on March 18 asking to be on a future agenda to discuss possible solutions, such as:

• Installing fencing and limiting access points

• Improving the fire alarm/suppression system

• Updating security cameras

Phillips said they hope to “call attention to safety concerns that are less than ideal for the 700 employees and students on the Helen Haller campus” while bringing in volunteers and setting up fundraising opportunities.

“We all know how old Helen Haller is, and I know there is not a desire to put a lot of money into Helen Haller with the hope for a school bond later,” Anderson said.

“We’re going to have kids there quite a few years before we get a new building though. There are seven access points into the campus, if not more, and we’ve all heard of problems. We want to create a safer environment for our children and see where we want to go now.”

Bixby said the Parent Teacher Organization at the school and its families have garnered a lot of support for various efforts before.

“We just want to make sure we do it the right way,” she said.

Superintendent contract

Discussions continue about Neal’s contract after board directors voted unanimously in January to maintain his contract through June 30, 2020.

Board director Brandino Gibson told fellow board directors on March 18 he’s looking forward to the next discussion/step regarding the future of buildings in the Sequim School District after the Central Kitchen is complete.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do and it sounds like we’ve got a community that’s on board,” he said. “They’re antsy and ready to do something, and I’m looking forward to that discussion.”

Board director Jim Stoffer said the next step for the district is deciding on Neal’s contract.

“We need to tell the people of our trust and faith in him,” Stoffer said. “We can extend. We can do a new contract now. As we go forward with this work, we need a leader in place to do that work.”

Stoffer said they don’t have to wait until June to renew and “there’s been nothing derogatory in his (evaluations). It’s been very positive.”

In January, Kuh said Neal’s mid-year review was “favorable” and that the board seeks to create a more formal process to evaluate the superintendent position under a state evaluation framework.

Kuh told board directors on March 18 he feels they’re on a “good trajectory” with their evaluation process and that he’s in favor of waiting until June 30 to discuss an extension.

“He has 16 months on his contract, and if at the end of June 30 the board agrees to extend his contract, he’ll have 24 months,” Kuh said.

Kuh said he’s “very aware of the subtle messaging around that” and that he disagrees with a rolling three-year contract method.

“This rhetoric of not standing behind the superintendent is entirely disingenuous,” he said. “I will continue to reject it from my own standpoint.”

No decision was made on Neal’s contract.

Neal previously was a finalist in Hockinson School District’s candidacy earlier this month for its superintendent position, which went to Steve Marshall, current director of educational resources at Camas Public Schools.

For more information about the Sequim School District, visit www.sequimschools.org or call 360-582-3260.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.