Georgia Johnson and her food program praised to School Board

A critical decision of the La Conner School District Directors was not discussed or decided at Monday’s monthly board meeting. Last week the Directors had a resolution before them that “resolved as follows: 1. The Board of Directors hereby finds that just and sufficient cause exists for the termination of Georgia Johnson.”

The recitals supporting that were:

“2. The administration has recommended that Georgia Johnson’s employment be terminated.

“3. The Board of Directors has reviewed the administration’s recommendation and finds that just and sufficient cause exists for the termination of Georgia Johnson.”

The only policy decision made Monday was on the consent agenda, which precludes discussion. Fifty town residents, parents, students and school teachers and staff sat through almost two hours of presentations and reports so a handful could speak. Several spoke in support of School Food Services Director Georgia Johnson, who had been told she is being terminated at the end of the school year. Johnson, 67, with 16 years of service, had refused to retire or resign. Johnson has directed the schools’ food program for 15 years.

Reading a statement, Johnson generously called out Principals Ted Torgeson and Bev Bowen’s successes and summed up the 15-year effort to bring fresh, local farm harvests into her school kitchen as taking “courage and vision, to change the food we serve here to reflect the families and farmers who live here.”

Speaking to the ambiguity of Superintendent Whitney’s Meissner’s 2019-20 budget recommendation made Monday to “continue to provide locally sourced, healthy meals” while removing her, the program’s designer, Johnson said “it is simply unknown what direction this food service program is headed. It is so important for student education, kids’ well-being. There is much to do and I continue to be eager to be part of it.”

Meissner reviewed the district’s strategic plan during the meeting, including its emphasis on a supportive and caring environment that includes “mutual respect and trust [and] a positive culture and increase[d] engagement.” Johnson’s closing words challenged those goals. She told the board and audience: “We should all live and work in an atmosphere free of fear, free of insecurity. This is reflected in the La Conner Community and should be reflected here in the school community. We are all one community.”

Phil Massey, an 18-year para-educator in the elementary school, spoke last. Reflecting on the last 10 years of his first career, working with underperforming post offices for the U.S. Postal Service, Massey said he often found “broken relationships, a lack of trust and a poor workplace environment needed to be fixed.” He told the Board “Care about your employees. They are your employees.”

Steve Crider, the farm to school lead at Viva Farms was the first speaker at 7:20 p.m. He has worked closely with Johnson and sang her praises, having stayed late on this, his birthday. He told the Board Johnson was doing remarkable work and “La Conner has the best [food from farms] program in the county and rivals San Juan and Whatcom counties as the best in the state.” He garnered applause after saying “Georgia was doing farm to school before it was a thing.”

Johnson’s name was not on the personnel actions list prepared for the School Board for Monday.

Johnson was not on the list of either Non-Representative Supervisory Classified Staff or Non-Representative Non-Supervisory Classified Staff presented to the School Board. They passed a resolution Monday for employment of classified employees for the 2018-2019 school year as part of its consent agenda. It directed the superintendent “to offer employment assurances to nonsupervisory classified staff and assurances and/or contracts to supervisory classified personnel with salaries to be determined for the 2018-19 school year.”

Separately, the school district is taking applications to replace Elementary School Principal Bev Bowen whose resignation was approved at the board’s May 6 study session. The district’s website lists May 28 as the deadline for applications.

The school board’s policy is not to respond to comments and not discuss personnel matters in open meetings.

School directors are Janie Beasley, president, Lynette Cram, Susan Deyo, Brad Smith and Kate Szurek.