I know that being on the school board is a difficult job and that there are a lot of decisions that have to be made based on information the public is not privy to. That said, I know there is other information that is very important the public know and understand. I refer specifically to the amount of money that has been spent over the past 10 months in the attempt to remove Ed Saxton from position of Superintendent.
During my own tenure on this very board, I was involved in similar personnel actions. I am going to talk about the merits of doing so – but my own experience tells me that what the school board is attempting to do is very difficult to win and very costly to attempt.
Therefore, I would like to formally request the board give a complete accounting of what has been spent on this action – salary for paid administrative leave, salary for interims, legal costs and anything else associated with attempting to remove Mr. Saxton as superintendent. I don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect this information be shared at the next board meeting as an agenda item.
Additionally, because it appears the board intends to continue this fight – and I hope they think very long and seriously about their chances of success before they do so – they should tell the people of the district at the same time what those steps are and what the estimated cost will be. Outlining an anticipated series of actions and estimated costs will not violate the Data Privacy laws.
Finally, I think the board needs to think about and start planning for what it will do if – and, increasingly likely – when Mr. Saxton is returned to his post. He has publicly stated he intends to serve out the remaining months of his contract. It is the board’s responsibility to figure out how to make that work. The people of this district deserve a board and administration that can put their personal differences aside and deliver a top quality educational system for our kids. It is time to start putting our time, energy and money behind doing just that.