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Union, students and teachers urge internal consideration and staff involvement in superintendent search
Summary
During public comment at the Feb. 25 special meeting, SEA representative Brett Duer thanked Superintendent Susan Penrod, asked for union participation in the search and cautioned against hiring an outside consultant while budget cuts are on the table; a student and a teacher urged attention to internal candidates and equal process.
Public comment at the Seaside School District 10 special board meeting brought several stakeholders to the microphone urging that internal candidates and district staff be central to the superintendent recruitment design.
Brett Duer, speaking on behalf of SEA, thanked Superintendent Susan Penrod for her service and told the board the union would like an opportunity to be involved in the process; he also raised concerns about "the optics of hiring a consultant while budget cuts are being considered." A high‑school student, Juanita Cazarez, said students would value a candidate they know. Middle‑school teacher Shelby Gagnon echoed concerns about consultant spending and argued that internal candidates should be subject to the same process as external applicants.
Those comments preceded the board’s decision to run the search in‑house and to form a search committee. Speakers focused on transparency, staff workload and ensuring consistent treatment for internal applicants. Ella Crater also raised staff‑capacity concerns about running an internal search while maintaining regular responsibilities.
