Letter: Why did disciplinary issues fester so long?

Published 12:29 pm Monday, May 6, 2024

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

I think most of us on the peninsula share a common desire to make sure our kids have the best education possible. This should be a team effort between citizens, parents, teachers, the school board and district administration. And it is accomplished by a bond of trust between all concerned stakeholders making it possible to put the best interest of students above any personal agenda. In theory that is how it should work; however, a recent article in the newspaper has shaken my trust.

Up until recently I held a pretty high opinion of all stakeholders so you can imagine my disappointment when the April 3, 2024 edition of the Chinook Observer published an article entitled “School chief denies role in spouse’s payout.” My understanding from the article is that the superintendent and school board justified the $90,000 salary plus $20,000 in benefits settlement paid to the superintendent’s spouse, Shawn Stern, because it was commensurate with a teacher who has taught for 28 years and that the agreement was reached according to Washington state law and legal counsel.

Okay, but wait a minute. Let’s look at the rest of the article. Ocean Beach Education Association President Jodie Housley is quoted as saying, “There is no reason that a district would pay a settlement like this when termination is warranted based on his past and recent behavior.” She is referring to Mr. Stern’s “extensive discipline record.” She further comments, that this “is not normal for school districts to do.”

My next question is “why was this a resignation rather than a termination agreement?” There is no explanation in the article regarding this determination. Throughout the article Superintendent Amy Huntley continually states that she “was not involved in his discipline actions,” or “in his separation.” She claims her only involvement was signing approval of the settlement, which law requires of the superintendent. Okay, who the heck was monitoring this guy’s disciplinary issues and why was his abusive bullying behaviors allowed to go on for so long? Surely the principals at the high school to whom he reported must have been aware of his issues and presented them to the superintendent. So many questions — so few answers.

Here’s another question, according to the newspaper, an email sent from OBSD Human Resources Director Jim Paxinos to the Washington Education Association (teacher’s union) representative states, “Stern separation agreement draft is on its way to you shortly. Don’t anticipate any pushback from Stern, Amy has approved it. Need to fast track it please, trying to get his resignation on Monday board meeting! We’re cutting ties with him completely and paying him out now with a lump sum… it’s a sweet deal for him and for us, optics.”

That text message was sent on Oct. 27, 2023. Why was there a need to fast track the agreement at the Nov. 27,2023 board meeting? Was it because there was an upcoming election in which incumbent board members might be unseated and the possibility that new board members, who were scheduled to be sworn in at the December meeting, might disagree with this settlement? And if Shawn Stern’s direct supervisor was his principal, doesn’t it make sense that she would have spoken to the superintendent regarding his behavior? Seems like I remember that the high school principal was involuntarily reassigned and demoted before the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year when all this with Stern hit the fan. Huh, seems like an odd coincidence.

Keeping all this in mind you might guess at how the 40 some attendees responded during the April 24 Ocean Beach School District (OBSD) school board meeting when Assistant Board Chair Nansen Malin read an official public statement regarding the “Shawn Stern Payout Scandal.” In it she stated “First of all and most importantly, Amy played no role in any disciplinary action relating to Shawn or in the resignation agreement he and the district ultimately entered into.” The statement goes on to say, while navigating this difficult situation Amy has shown “incredible leadership.” Really? I wonder if the superintendent’s staff, teachers and parents feel that way?

JOAN PORTER

Ocean Park