School Board delays decisions on administrative raises, superintendent contract extension

The Fourth of July is still a week away, but there were early fireworks aplenty when the La Conner School Board met in a tense, sometimes heated session before a standing room only audience Monday evening in the district’s administrative building.

The two-hour meeting dealt mostly with issues related to second-year Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner, the subject of recent no-confidence votes taken by members of the district’s two employee unions, who allege her management has been ineffective and leadership style has created a negative school culture and climate.

After much discussion and public input, the Board in essence rendered a split decision.

Board Directors, by a 3-0 vote – with Lynette Cram and Susie Deyo abstaining – approved an evaluation of Meissner that found she has met several key performance standards, among them overseeing a successful school levy campaign last winter.

But the Board also tabled action until further review on proposed salary increases for Meissner and district administrators, and extension of Meissner’s contract through 2022, moves seen as victories for the unions.

Board Directors have been weighing what they term modest salary hikes for La Conner administrators since the start of the school year, when teachers and classified staff received salary corrections after years of drawing pay lower than their peers in outlying districts.

“The administrators,” Director Kate Szurek insisted, “are sensitive to the budget. No one has demanded a raise. A couple even said they would forego salary increases.”

Teacher Suzann Keith, one of many who spoke during the meeting’s public comments segment, said the Board needn’t immediately act on Meissner’s contract since she is signed through 2021.

Others also urged the Board to chart a more deliberate course. Ultimately, those points carried the day.

“It doesn’t seem right,” La Conner Schools Director of Bands and Choirs McKenzie Clark said at one point, “to take action on items that haven’t been fully fleshed out.”

The names of those requesting time to speak to Board directors spilled over onto a second sign-up sheet. Many were clearly upset that La Conner Elementary Principal Bev Bowen and Food Services Director Georgia Johnson will not return to campus in September, departures they ascribe to Meissner.

“The La Conner School District’s house is on fire,” said Todd Wigal, himself a firefighter and husband of La Conner Elementary teacher Katie Wigal. “Your job is to do something about it.”

La Conner Middle and High School Counselor Lori Buher defended Meissner.

“I’m here to give full support to Dr. Meissner and her administration,” Buher said. “I’m sorry to go against my fellow union members on this,” she said. “Many members of the unions have been friends of mine for 30 years, but this is not the way to go about it. We need to move in a positive direction, not in a negative one, if we’re to have the students’ interests at heart.”

Among specific concerns raised Monday was the status of the district’s teacher’s aides.

La Conner Elementary para-educator Amber Fleck said recent changes impacting general education aides seem to signal a phasing out of those positions.

“For many years,” she said, “La Conner Elementary has known, and still knows, the immeasurable value of full-time para-educators in the lower elementary classes. This concept of adding additional academic, social, behavioral and emotional support to students through para-educators is what creates a solid foundation for each student’s success.

“It’s my understanding,” she added, “that other local school districts do not have paras in classrooms like La Conner historically has had. That being said, we should not be aspiring to mimic other school districts if it means sacrificing the quality of education and support for our students.”

Connie Funk, also a La Conner para-educator, gave props to Bowen and Johnson – an acknowledgement of their service that brought a loud, sustained ovation. Funk then revisited a theme she has shared before, the need for all involved to find common ground.

“Each and every one of us,” she said, “is here tonight because we value education and believe that children are the future of the world, and we also know that they learn mostly from what is modeled for them, rather than from words. We can teach them science, math, language arts and all the rest, including social and emotional intelligence and anti-bullying skills, but unless it is modeled for them, they can’t put it into practice.

“Every good leader,” she stressed, “whether a parent, CEO of a private corporation or public schools, must lead by example, in partnership with all.”

Ironically, Monday’s entire wide-ranging discussion might not have transpired.

Cram, at the outset of the meeting, sought to defuse matters by tabling all three agenda items that pertained to either Meissner or district administration.

“There are lots of questions,” she said, “but not a lot of clear answers. I’m willing to spend the extra time to find those answers.”

Deyo seconded her motion, but Szurek, director Brad Smith and chair Janie Beasley voted to forge ahead.

Eventually, though, the Board did move to set aside for now formal action on the administration pay raises and Meissner’s contract.

The Board, Meissner and leadership of both school unions were scheduled to meet in a closed session Tuesday evening. Details related to the no-confidence votes were to be discussed.