Everett School Board to censure member Jessica Olson — again

EVERETT — Any hope that peace might break out among Everett School Board members appeared dashed Friday after a resolution was drawn up to formally censure the director most often at odds with the group.

If the resoluti

on is approved as planned Tuesday, it would be the second censure this year for board member Jessica Olson.

“The issue here in my view is that when there is misbehavior, that it should be documented,” the school board’s president, Ed Petersen, said Friday evening.

Petersen said he didn’t think that the board could resolve its issues “until Director Olson realizes there’s some level of fault of her side.”

Olson said she hoped fellow board members would carefully consider their actions.

“Technically speaking, I am entitled to a hearing,” she said. “The resolution is already drawn up. They’re so caught up in their need to be right that they’re willing to throw the rights away of others.”

The resolution to censure Olson is scheduled to be discussed during the school board’s meeting Tuesday, which begins at 4:30 p.m.

The first censure of Olson occurred in February. Censure carries no legal weight; it is simply a public reprimand.

The new censure resolution will come two weeks to the day after a physical scuffle broke out between Olson and board members Kristie Dutton and Petersen. The board had gone behind closed doors to discuss an evaluation of Superintendent Gary Cohn. The meeting devolved into contested videotaping, struggle over control of documents, claims of assault and 911 calls to police.

Since then, two groups in the community have called on the board to reconcile.

One request came in a letter written by Reid Shockey, a long-time planning consultant in Everett. It was signed by nearly three dozen people, including some of Snohomish County’s best-known business owners and elected officials.

Those who signed the letter support the majority of the five-person Everett School Board as well as Cohn’s administration. While not directly naming her, the letter singles out Olson for criticism.

Meanwhile, a group called the Everett School Board Project has called on all five school board members to publicly apologize.

Kim Guymon, who helped launch the Everett School Board Project, called the proposed resolution to censure Olson “beyond ridiculous.

“This just makes me madder,” she said. “It doesn’t solve the problem. It just inflames it.”

The censure under consideration Tuesday night only briefly mentions the Aug. 23 altercation. Instead, it singles out Olson for criticism for actions she allegedly took from Nov. 16 through Aug. 23.

Among other complaints, it accuses Olson of intimidation and harassment of staff, undermining public trust with false accusations, wasting the superintendent’s time, ignoring the board’s email policy and violating the school district’s records rules.

Olson, the resolution says, also left district offices with unredacted attorney billings without permission and willfully disclosed to The Herald what the board considered “privileged correspondence” from the school board’s attorney. The lawyer’s advice focused on state law and how it related to Olson’s practice of videotaping public school board meetings and, in some cases, meetings with school district staff.

The opinion, from Seattle attorney Valerie Hughes, was described as “confidential” on the school board’s agenda, but it isn’t marked that way. The document detailed the state’s Open Meeting Laws, record-retention rules and attorney general advisory opinions, including some information that is available on state websites.

Olson earlier said she began videotaping after the board earlier accused her of bullying behavior and to create a record of what occurred during meetings.

Despite planning to vote on censuring Olson a second time, Petersen said he thinks it still is possible that board members will apologize during Tuesday’s board meeting for their individual roles in the Aug. 23 fracas.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.