Critics slam Rainier School Board decision
Friday, July 6, 2007 11:42 PM PDT
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleRainier School Board members on Friday defended their decision to reprimand their superintendent and junior/senior high school principal, and Superintendent Michael Carter said he hopes the district can move forward after nearly a month of public turmoil.
Initial reaction from residents, though, shows the district's wounds may be slow to heal.
Some residents expressed concern that keeping both Carter and Principal Jeff Gilbert in place after a year of their power struggles will cause teachers and staff to leave the contentious district.
"I think they did the worst thing they could have done," parent Ted Powell said Friday. "This says the superintendent is running the school board and he's going to have yes-men or people that agree with him in every position. I don't know what Mr. Gilbert is going to do, and we're begging him to stay, but I wouldn't blame him if he left."
"I think there's going to be a huge fall-out. I think we're going to lose a lot of teachers," added parent Cindy Anderson. "Who would want to work there now?"
The board, after a five-hour meeting, voted late Thursday to reprimand both men and to spell out specific improvements required for their continued employment. If either Carter or Gilbert violate those terms they can be disciplined or fired immediately. If either man doesn't accept the board's terms, he must resign.
Carter said Friday morning that he's willing to work to improve his performance and thanked the board for the chance.
Gilbert did not return telephone calls for comment Friday.
"It really is up to Mr. Gilbert," Carter said. "The problem has not been with me. Mr. Gilbert has to make a decision as to what he wants to do."
School Board Vice Chairwoman Kelly Barnes said late Thursday night that the board did what it felt was right for the district as a whole.
"We appreciate all the input that has been brought forth," Barnes said minutes after the unanimous vote. "We take it very seriously and while not taking sides in a popularity contest, we addressed the issues. Our hope is we can go forth from here as a unified district."
Board Chairman Dale Archibald added Friday that he hopes Carter and Gilbert can learn how to work together for the good of the district.
"We have two very smart administrators, and if they did their jobs we wouldn't be in the present position," Archibald said. "Too much personal stuff was brought up in the last six to eight months that made both of them struggle to do their jobs. They need to be professional, they need to put the crap aside and do what's best for kids."
It wasn't necessarily a popular decision, though, and board members said they knew they'd take heat no matter what they did.
One of the most frustrating parts of the whole situation, Archibald said, is that the public has taken sides without knowing the whole story and the board is legally barred from discussing some personnel matters.
"It's been one of the toughest things I've had to deal with," Archibald said. "But I still believe we made a decision based on what is best for our kids and the district."
Twenty people waited in the parking lot all night Thursday to hear the board's decision and were clearly upset with the final result. One woman muttered "they didn't listen to anything," on her way out the door.
But Corlee Frederick, the teachers' union president, said the union will support the board's decision and hope for the best.
"We've been working hard on our relationship with the school board and this is a school board decision and we'll support that," Frederick said. "Now our focus is on providing a healthy, nurturing environment for our students."
Carter's improvement plan --- still being written by the board's lawyer --- will include using appropriate communication, maintaining emotional control, avoiding intimidation and appropriately managing and monitoring his subordinates. Carter joined the district in 2001 as the high school principal and was promoted to superintendent in 2003. He will make $103, 573 this school year.
Gilbert's plan will be administered by Carter at the board's direction and oversight. It will include "not using inappropriate or derogatory comments based on sex, sexual orientation, disability or any other protected category or any comments or actions constituting sexual harassment," according to the board's motion. Also, Gilbert must maintain a working relationship with the superintendent.
Gilbert, a former teacher in Milwaukie, Ore., was hired as Carter's replacement at the school in 2003. Gilbert will earn $81,326 this school year.
Tensions have built in the district the past few months, culminating in a public airing of problems between Carter and Gilbert. The flash point, staff members have said, was the allegation that Carter's wife, drama teacher Laurie Kash, was seen kissing a 17-year-old foreign exchange student who lived with Carter and Kash this past school year.
Gilbert placed Kash on leave during an investigation. Columbia County's District Attorney decided the kissing -- regardless of whether it happened or not -- wouldn't qualify as a crime and Kash was reinstated.
The school board did not investigate the kissing allegations, instead commissioning an investigation into how Kash was placed on leave and then reinstated.
In June, the board forwarded the entire Kash issue --- including how district administrators handled the matter --- to the state Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, asking officials there to decide if any commission action is required. At the same time, the board announced the district would take no action against Kash.
Parent Cindy Anderson said she was "flabbergasted" with the board's decision Thursday, particularly because it didn't address the Kash situation which she believes is the root of all the problems.
"I was hoping that they would investigate," Anderson said Friday. "They really haven't addressed the main issue. They've just skirted around it because they're scared."
The problems between Carter and Gilbert became public on June 13. That's the day Carter placed long-time counselor and teacher Jay Davies on paid leave because Davies asked Carter and Kash to not attend a staff party at his house because of the ongoing turmoil.
Sixty-five people packed the school board meeting that same night, imploring the board to fix the low morale and diffuse the tension between Carter and Gilbert.
Friday, Archibald said he believed the reprimands were a first step in doing that.
"It's gong to be a lot of building back our district to get everybody back on board," Archibald said. "Hopefully everybody puts their mind to it and does their job."
Davies, though, questioned the board's reasoning given the level of animosity between Gilbert and Carter.
"I don't see how placing them both on plans of assistance and giving them letters of reprimand is going to make conditions at the school any better," Davies said Friday. "I don't see how that's going to work."
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