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Trustee alleges the board bypassed superintendent-evaluation policy; trustees promise review and tools
Summary
A trustee read sections of district policy and said the board did not follow the district's superintendent-evaluation procedures before extending the superintendent's contract; other trustees and staff acknowledged past practice differed from policy and said evaluation tools would be shared before the next meeting.
At the Aug. 11 Bladen County Board of Education meeting a trustee raised a formal concern that the board did not follow written policy when it extended the superintendent's contract.
The trustee read portions of policy 7805 (evaluation process) and policy 7420 (superintendent contract), asserting that the superintendent had not completed the required self-assessment nor met with the board as outlined in policy before the contract extension. The trustee said there was no written evaluation instrument provided, and that the extension appeared to have been approved without the process called for in policy.
Other trustees and the board’s attorney/staff responded that historically the district had not strictly followed the formal evaluation process, that the chair and legal counsel were assembling evaluation tools, and that the board intends to share materials prior to the next meeting so trustees can select an evaluation instrument and proceed in compliance going forward. Trustees discussed the difference between amending a policy and voting to temporarily suspend or waive certain policy provisions; legal counsel said the board can suspend a nonstatutory policy by majority vote if circumstances warrant, but that statutes and state-required policies must be followed.
After closed-session discussions, the board approved personnel action items by voice vote. A trustee expressed disappointment that some names were not listed in the personnel packet and said that issue had been discussed in closed session.
