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Residents urge review of Numerica PAC lease reporting and raise concerns about teacher due process
Summary
Public commenters at the Wenatchee council meeting alleged the Numerica Performing Arts Center failed to provide required lease reports and that a substitute teacher’s certification was removed without due process; city staff did not take immediate administrative action on either claim during the meeting.
WENATCHEE — Two public commenters used the city council’s public comment period to raise separate accountability concerns: one about the Numerica Performing Arts Center’s financial and lease obligations, the other about due process for a substitute teacher with the Wenatchee School District.
Ryan Campbell, who identified his address as 1837 Jefferson Street, said he analyzed public records and 80 quarterly reports and five financial statements he expected the Numerica Performing Arts Center (PAC) to provide under its ground lease. Campbell said the PAC’s online annual report shows investments of $256,929, cash of $543,894 and a net worth of $3,911,393 and argued the PAC could afford to resume the original $17,500 annual ground-lease payment rather than the reduced lease terms he says have been in place since 2005. He said required reports were not being provided and that some free-seat allocations appeared to go to organizations such as the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival rather than directly to low-income residents; Campbell said he plans to forward his findings to the state auditor’s office and the state attorney general.
Tara Shuttleworth, a Wenatchee resident, described a separate matter in which the Wenatchee School District removed her substitute teaching certification and classified her as an at-will employee without giving her an opportunity to present her account. Shuttleworth said she contacted multiple agencies including the school district, the county prosecuting attorney, the Washington State Bar Association and education attorneys and requested the city reconsider whether it could assist in ensuring due-process protections for educators. The presiding official told Shuttleworth the council believed the issue was a personal matter and outside city scope; Shuttleworth requested the city reconsider and asked for support.
No council action or formal staff response to either specific allegation was recorded during the meeting. Campbell’s claims were presented as an intent to pursue state review; Shuttleworth’s appeal received a procedural reply about the city’s limits. Both matters remain unresolved as of the meeting’s close.
