By Brian Kelly
Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — Teachers and other employees in the Marysville School District Tuesday night overwhelmingly handed the school board and superintendent Linda Whitehead a vote of no confidence.
The vote by members of the Marysville Education Association passed by a landslide, with more than 92 percent voting in favor of the resolution.
"People were pretty much ready to vote. There wasn’t any real debate or opposition to the resolution," said Micki Cunningham, association president.
Teachers and other certificated employees have said the school board, along with Whitehead, don’t have what it takes to lead the district, which has been troubled over the past year by budget cuts, staffing changes and other issues. The vote of no confidence, a political slap in the face, carries no consequences other than poor publicity.
Cunningham said 381 of the group’s roughly 685 members came out to vote. The turnout was much higher than that normally seen at general membership meetings, but many members came ready to cast more than one vote. The association did not allow proxy votes to be counted, however.
With the long-expected vote complete, there’s more work to be done, Cunningham said, and that includes pulling parents into the discussion.
"That’s where we’re going. We want the community members to know that our teachers are dedicated to their jobs, are dedicated to raising the bar for our students, are dedicated to bringing the students to standards, are dedicated to teaching the essential academic learning requirements. And that is not going to stop," Cunningham said.
"This is going to make no difference in their classrooms," she added. "Teachers keep their eyes on the prize, and that’s the education of their students."
School board president Erik Olson said the district’s leadership was ready to meet with education association members to talk about their issues of concern.
"We’ll meet and discuss the significant issues. We’ve always been open to that," Olson said.
"The vote of no confidence; they said they were going to do it and they did. I respect their right to be able to do that," Olson said.
Even so, Olson said it was the still the school board’s job to evaluate the performance of the superintendent. And district residents decide if the school board is doing an adequate job, and can vote to remove them if they’re not.
"We all have to work as a team for this district to succeed," Olson added. "We all have to sit down and remember why we’re here. It’s not for us, it’s for the kids, the students."
You can call Herald Writer Brian Kelly at 425-339-3422 or send e-mail to kelly@heraldnet.com.
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