REA president clarifies group's position

ROYAL CITY - During an interview at Red Rock Elementary last Thursday, Royal Education Association President Brent Whitaker said the teachers have not asked for and are not asking for the removal of Superintendent Rose Search.

"No REA member has ever said that," he said.

"We're not trying to run the district," he added.

What Whitaker said he has asked for is "change" that will allow the school district to move forward effectively. He'll leave it up to the board what that change should be.

"I'm not in favor of buying her contract out," Whitaker said. "As a taxpayer, I don't want to pay anybody for not working."

However, Whitaker makes it clear he is unhappy with Search's performance and capabilities. He read a statement to that effect in front of the school board on Feb. 23.

Whitaker's latest knock on Search is that she did not have, as of Thursday, a prominent (first page) posting of the March 23 school board meeting on the school district website. He noted a person had to open the "School Board" tab to get to a menu that includes the meeting calendar.

Craig Janett, who conducted the meeting of Feb. 23, asked Search to make sure there was easily accessed notice of future meetings.

On Friday there was a legal notice at the top of the first page noting a special board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on March 23.

Whitaker said that, before Feb. 23, he had not talked to anyone on the board about the controversy that has developed. He went to the meeting of the 23rd after he became aware that one teacher, or more, had spoken in favor of Search at a previous special meeting.

Whitaker said the teacher survey from which he read that night was in response to the teacher-board interaction at the special meeting. He wanted all of the teachers to have a voice, he said.

Whitaker said he's never had a personal issue with the superintendent, but professionally he has.

"If dividing a school district or a community is effective leadership, then she's one of the best I've seen," Whitaker said.

Whitaker said his dissatisfaction with Search started before the 2014 teacher contract negotiations. He was upset by a $100,000 cut at Red Rock and the loss of its lone ELL (English Language Learners) teacher.

"We have a lot of kids who are unserved," he said.

Whitaker said it's his understanding the district has a reserve fund of more than $2.5 million. He doesn't believe the school board should maintain such a large reserve.

"We're not a savings & loan," he said.

"As a taxpayer, I don't think we should be saving at all," he added.

The teacher contract negotiations added to Whitaker's dissatisfaction. At first they were between Search and the district's attorney and the REA and a Uniserv representative, he said. Then there was six months of mediation.

Finally the negotiations were between the board and the REA. Whitaker said it took three meetings over two and a half weeks to finish. He added that much of the contract had been hammered out before the board stepped in.

Whitaker noted Board President Bob Murphy did not participate in those final negotiations. That was because Whitaker demanded Murphy not be there.

Regarding the 10 points of objection to Search written in a guest editorial, Whitaker said: "A lot of those 10 things have existed for years. The negotiations brought them to light."

Whitaker, who has been in Royal 14 years and in education a total of 37 years, said his time is short. So his concern is for the younger teachers.

Regarding his relationship with Search, Whitaker said it is damaged beyond repair. He said they avoid each other as much as possible, and he expects things to continue that way.

Whitaker said the district needs "Peace." He hopes it will come from a new setup of labor-management meetings negotiated with the district.

Those meetings, which Whitaker believes will start soon, will include at least one board member.

Whitaker made one suggestion for the coming year. He would like to see the board create a human resources position independent of the superintendent. Search is currently the human resources person.