Seattle School Board Rushes To Get Items Done Before New Board Members Come In
It can't be a surprise to anyone that Director Chandra Hampson is frantically trying to get several key items (some might call them pet projects) done before her time on the Board (thankfully) ends.
I note that the induction ceremony for the new members is scheduled for Wednesday, November 29, from 5:30-6:30 pm. But what is curious is the Board is not following its basic every two week board meeting schedule. For some reason, they are going 3 weeks in October and 3 weeks in December.
There should be a Board meeting immediately after the oath of office; this indeed HAS happened in the past. I'm not going for any "holiday" reasoning. I find this troubling because it certainly heads off the new Board. They will have one Board meeting with the new members on Wednesday, December 13th and then, I hope, have a Board meeting on January 3rd but I suspect that, too, will get pushed out to the next week.
It certainly gives the powers that be on the Board more time. I sure hope the minority group will say no to any rushed items. It doesn't matter if that changes nothing; it puts it in the public record that some members stood up to be counted.
Another curious item from reader Concerned:
Related to the past and future school boards, it is curious that the
current board has held two executive sessions focused on review of a
public employee in the last month: September 13 and October 11. The
board manages one public employee-- the superintendent-- so one might
conclude that they are reviewing the superintendent. Since historically
it has been in the Nov/Dec time period when a superintendent's contract
has either been terminated or extended, it seems like something is in
the works.
Indeed there are rumors that a contract renewal is in
the works. This fits with this current school board's penchant for
slipping in significant decisions before they turn the lights out on
their board service.
- Concerned
Now, the Board does get asked about employees other than the Superintendent when there are legal issues involved and that may very well be the case.
And historically, the contracts go from July to July. Again, for whatever reason, Superintendent Brent Jones only has a 2-year contract that ends July 2024. Given that the current Board likes SOFG, I suspect they want to keep him in the fold so perhaps they ARE talking about his contract.
I sure hope not.
Comments
Reshuffle Shuffle
Contracts do go July to July, but history has decisions being made in the Oct-Dec time period:
Denise Juneau's non-renewal/resignation happened in early December 2020
Larry Nyland's non-renewal was raised in October 2017.
I doesn't make administrative sense to run out the clock too long given how long it takes to find a superintendent, unless there is a secret plan to elevate someone already within SPS, which is equally concerning.
And I imagine there could be someone else to talk about, but 2 executive sessions?
If this were CSI episode, we might put to pieces together this way: 2 executive sessions + this school board (with zero track record of good decisions ) + HQ chatter = high likelihood that a superintendent contract renewal is in the works.
- Concerned