The school superintendent re-evaluation meeting is set for Thursday, but three members of Clarkston Board of Education say they will not participate.
“Craig Hamilton, Joan Patterson and myself will not be attending the redo of Dr. Rock’s evaluation on Thursday,” said board Vice President Susan Boatman in an email, Jan. 27. “The new board majority wants to change the superintendent’s rating and we will not help legitimize the corruption of our agreed upon evaluation process.”
The meeting was set by a vote at the Jan. 12 school board meeting, said board President Steve Hyer.
“I am not sure what has happened since then,” Hyer said. “I look forward as the board leader to putting politics aside, and keeping the focus on spending our time as a board on the things that matter most, and that is the achievement of our students.”
The agenda for the meeting will include reconsideration of evaluation parts “G” through “K,” which includes Evaluations, Progress Towards the School Improvement Plan, Student Attendance, Student/Parent/Teacher Feedback, and Student Growth and Achievement.
It will also include finalization of the 2014 Superintendent Evaluation Letter, superintendent evaluation process and tool for the 2014/15 school year and 2015 calendar year, superintendent goals for student achievement data for the 2014/15 school year, and renewal of the superintendent’s contract ? these items are for discussion, not necessarily action by the board, Hyer said.
“If the board is comfortable and ready to move forward ? it is not my intent to push the board through any of these items,” he said.
The board met on Dec. 8 with the superintendent for the evaluation, resulting in a “minimally effective” rating. Hyer submitted a proposal on Jan. 12 to re-evaluate objective-based portions of the evaluation, based on a written request from Rock.
The re-evaluation meeting was approved 4-3, with Boatman, Hamilton, and Patterson voting against. Hyer, and trustees Elizabeth Egan, Kelli Horst, and Cheryl McGinnis voted for it on Jan. 12.
Speaking during citizen comment, Jan. 26, Independence Township resident Betty Reilly said Horst, who was elected to the board this past November, should abstain from the vote.
“As a new school board member, you were not involved with the evaluation last year,” Reilly said.
The Jan. 29 meeting was set for open session as of Monday, but Superintendent Dr. Rod Rock can request closed session for the evaluation portion of the meeting, Hyer said.
After the meeting, Rock said he did not know if he would request closed session.
“Choosing a closed session for my evaluation is simply a matter of exercising my rights under the law,” Rock said in an email, Jan. 27.
Any decisions of the board will be made in open session, Hyer said.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 29, at the school administration building.