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Higley Unified board delays decision after debate over superintendent sitting on dais
Summary
The Higley Unified School District governing board debated whether Superintendent Lautzenheiser should sit on the dais during meetings after public comments and a member complaint about an email announcement. The board voted 3-2 to table the item until the next meeting.
At a Higley Unified School District governing board meeting, members debated whether Superintendent Lautzenheiser should be seated on the dais with elected board members and voted 3-2 to table the issue until the next board meeting.
The discussion grew out of public comment and an email the board received announcing the superintendent would sit at the dais. Resident Mary Anne told the board, “As a new employee of our district, why do you think your influence on the board do you think you have by sitting up at the dais?” Linda Payne, another resident, said, “Up there is for elected officials. So why is he up there? I don't understand.”
Board member Van Hook said the email announcing the seating change was sent without board discussion and that the change “blurs the lines of what is expected from us and what's expected of you.” Van Hook added, “I cannot and will not support superintendent Lautzenheiser moving to the dais.”
Several other board members disagreed. Board member Glover said the superintendent has sat on the dais at times in the district’s past and that seating the superintendent alongside the board can “promote transparency and accountability.” Board member Dermott echoed that physical proximity can “help boost public confidence.” Vice President Schultz described the change as an effort “to foster a collaborative relationship.”
Superintendent Lautzenheiser told the board he sees the leadership team as a partnership and that seating was intended to signal teamwork. “I am the lead educator. My job as a superintendent is to be the lead educator in that liaison and that face of the district from an educational perspective,” he said, and added he would “sit wherever you guys would like.”
After board members discussed, a motion to table the item until the next meeting carried 3-2. The board recorded the tabling as an action to allow more time for discussion and to place the seating question back on a future agenda.
The matter will return for further consideration at the next meeting, allowing board members and the superintendent time to confer and for the community to provide additional input.
