STANWOOD — A school board meeting called for 8 a.m. Wednesday will address complaints against the Stanwood-Camano School District leadership on whether a line was crossed in political campaigning.
“The Board will hear from one or more members of the public who have raised concerns about campaign activities,” the agenda reads.
The meeting comes after a group of school district parents called out board president Al Schreiber for endorsing a board candidate who has withdrawn from the Nov. 5 election.
They believe Schreiber intended to sway the vote to give the board a chance to appoint its own pick. The group has threatened to file a recall petition to get Schreiber removed from his seat.
District parents also say they have election-related concerns about other district leadership.
Wednesday’s meeting may discuss the potential of a third-party investigation into campaign activities.
District parent and City Councilmember Kelly McGill requested such an investigation in a letter he sent to the board on Friday.
“I am beyond disappointed in the behavior I have seen surrounding these school board elections,” he wrote. “Please do the right thing and demonstrate that you value these legitimate concerns enough to have them fully investigated by a disinterested 3rd party.”
McGill had sent Schreiber an email three days prior, on Oct. 22, asking for a public apology for his endorsements. He hadn’t received a response as of Tuesday morning.
In the late afternoon Friday, McGill received an email from the district’s head of human resources, Maurene Stanton.
Stanton stated that superintendent Jean Shumate “…is making a recommendation to the board to hire a 3rd party investigator.”
“The board will need to call a special meeting to vote on her recommendation,” Stanton wrote. “They have to provide the public 48 hours notice of a special meeting. The notice will go out Monday and probably be held on Wednesday.”
The district has not confirmed if the discussion on a potential third-party investigation will take place at Wednesday’s meeting after repeated requests from The Herald. It’s also unclear if a vote could happen Wednesday.
The meeting will be in the Administration & Resource Center Boardroom at 26920 Pioneer Highway. Public comment is scheduled to begin at 8:05 am., and the board is to go into executive session at 8:30. The meeting is supposed to reconvene at 9:30 a.m.
Julia-Grace Sanders: 425-339-3439; jgsanders@heraldnet.
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