By Larry Coonrod, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 12:00 am
Robinson no longer the focus
It's been five and-a-half months in the making, and the final results bear little resemblance to the sweeping scope originally envisioned, but the Lebanon School Board tentatively agreed at a work session Jan. 23 to a district review process.
Al Davidian, a retired school superintendent who now consults with school
districts, facilitated last Wednesday's meeting. He recommended that board members limit the scope of a district review process in order to have it completed in a timely matter.
Davidian took issues previously identified by board members and divided them into three categories: communication, human resources and goals.
The board agreed to have the Oregon School Board Association (OSBA) conduct a communications audit. Vice Chair Chris Fisher objected to the district paying for audits, citing two previous ones done in the past six years, including an OSBA communication audit.
"We already have two studies the board has not taken the time to review," he said.
The district paid OSBA $5,600 for a 2002 communications audit. The Gates Foundation paid $15,394 in 2006 for a communication audit of the high school. The foundation pulled its funding for the academy system shortly afterward.
Asked last October about what the board had done with the 2002 audit, Sprenger said she brought the results up at least one board meeting after first being elected in 2003, but didn't get much support from other board members.
Superintendent Jim Robinson agreed with Davidian on the usefulness of having OSBA do another audit, saying the 2002 study had been primarily designed to define the role of the district's communication director, a position that no longer exists.
Davidian also suggested the board consider contracting to have a survey of parents, students and staff done. A common refrain among some Lebanon board members in the past several months has been that "the majority of the community" feels one way or another based upon conversations they have with constituents.
"How the hell do I know you're speaking for speaking for a lot of other people?" Davidian asked.
Issues regarding involuntary transfers of teachers, teacher participation with the superintendent in decisions, and teacher retention and recruiting will fall within the scope of a human resources audit. Davidian recommended the board hire the Oregon School Personnel Association (OSPA) to conduct the audit.
The board also considered Davidian's recommendation to involve the OSBA in a district goal-setting session.
Sprenger said she is checking with both organizations to get an estimate of costs for the audits and will present her findings to other board members prior to their next board meeting on Feb. 4.
Board members Rick Alexander, Josh Wineteer, and Debi Shimmin voted on Aug. 1, 2007, to put Robinson on paid administrative leave pending an independent review of his performance.
At the time, Alexander said he made the motion to remove Robinson based on concerns about teacher retention and transfers and a high dropout rate. Fisher countered that it was because of Robinson's pressing Sand Ridge Charter School about alleged contract violations and for not renewing Bo Yates' athletic director contract.
On advice from the district's legal counsel, Shimmin, supported by Fisher and chair Sherrie Sprenger, made a motion on Sept. 18 to bring Robinson back to work.
The focus of the independent review moved away from Robinson and toward the district as a whole since August.
Alexander initially wanted to have vocational, special education and sports programs audited.
He believes what the board agreed to on Wednesday represents only 10 percent of what he had originally envisioned.
"I'm happy to get that. If you can't get the whole pie you're better off to settle for small piece and move forward," he said.
Alexander said at the time he believed Robinson would intimidate district employees during a review and that is why the board placed him on administrative leave, a point he still believes to be true, he said.
Fisher said he believed that Alexander, Wineteer and Shimmin no longer cared about conducting a review.
"My own personal observation is they figured if they give Robinson a bad evaluation, it will supersede the review. They're just going through the motion (of the review) now.
Also on Jan. 23, the board met in executive session to discuss Robinson's regular annual review, which is separate from the review the board initiated on Aug. 1.
Next up in the process, Robinson and the board will discuss a mutual evaluation of the board. Afterward, Robinson will be presented with the board's evaluation of his performance. The discussions are scheduled to take place during an executive session on Feb. 4, after the board's public meeting.
However, Alexander says he will not wait to discuss the board's evaluation of Robinson with the superintendent before making a motion on Feb. 4 that the board vote not to renew Robinson's contract.