Rick Scriven
For the record, I would just like to point out a few facts that were left out of the articles dated March 6 and March 8 regarding the state of affairs between the Marysville School District teachers and the current administration, our school board and Dr. Linda Whitehead. I am one of the 14 members of the Marysville Education Association’s executive board. I have always been very slow to anger and pride myself on my ability to clearly see both sides to an issue before I pass judgment. I believe that I have done so in all fairness to both sides in this case.
Earlier this year it was put to us that we simply had no evidence in support of a "no confidence vote" against the board and superintendent of our district. The executive board had been getting complaint after complaint, some grievable broken contract issues, and others of a more personal nature. While I will not breech confidentiality here, suffice it to say that I had never seen so many complaints against one administration in my years as an MEA representative or executive board member.
Knowing this, the MEA compiled a survey for its members. The survey was clearly not biased and asked very reasonable questions of the membership regarding our school board and Dr. Linda Whitehead. Questions were also asked about other areas, including principals and staff morale. Over 80 percent of the Marysville teachers returned the survey. The negative grades this administration received from its teachers were clearly indicative of all the complaints we had been receiving. The survey was administered fairly, using the method we use to secure a secret ballot election.
Comments were also a part of the survey. The executive board was able to glean four areas of discontent from the comments: communications, respect as professionals, involvement in decision making, and concerns with skills, expertise and leadership. After our first general assembly, a resolution was passed that required the executive board to request a meeting with the school board and Dr. Whitehead. A letter was drafted to the school board and Dr. Whitehead asking for a meeting to discuss the survey results. The executive board met on a Sunday afternoon prior to the meeting and spent six hours debating what issues to discuss and how to go about it. Our ultimate goal was to discuss only those things that were fixable, not to belabor issues that could no longer be addressed. Our focus was to concentrate on rebridging this ravine, not to make it uncrossable.
To our dismay, Dr. Whitehead and Erik Olson, the school board president, wrote a letter to the executive board stating we could certainly have a meeting but not to discuss the results of the survey. Furthermore, the letter addressed the issue of staff morale as trivial, implying it could be fixed with staff development, weekly messages from the superintendent, and a monthly newsletter called the "Marysville Insider." The executive board for the Marysville Education Association voted unanimously not to meet with the district under these conditions.
Now we are faced with the sad task of having to recommend our teachers vote "no confidence" today in our present school board and Dr. Linda Whitehead. It is clearly the district’s move. Nobody wants it to come to this. In good faith the teachers of the Marysville School District reached out their hand and had it slapped. We are still holding out our hand.
Rick Scriven of Marysville is a junior high science teacher at Cedarcrest School and a member of the Marysville Education Association’s executive board.
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