MONROE — A packed house took their first opportunity to register opinions to the school board Feb. 13 over a recent controversy how one member privately asked a group of like-minded residents for their preferred superintendent candidate at a time when the whole board was determining who to hire behind closed doors.
Ultimately, the board voted 4-0 to hire Shawn Woodward.
Opinions remain split on whether Molly Barnes committed an ethical breach. District attorneys determined she didn’t violate open government law, and open government experts have given the same view.
Critics assert the ethical violation is Barnes gave a politically conservative group a potentially weightier voice while she was personally considering the candidates.
The head of the teacher’s union, Robyn Hiyashi of the Monroe Education Association, said the board not acting to punish Barnes fractured any goodwill that had been developing. “This superintendent selection will forever be in question because of this flawed process,” Hiyashi added.
Barnes’ defenders emphasized she did not violate law, and characterized that only a vocal few “loud voices,” as one put it, are attacking her.
In the meeting, Barnes said “I value and appreciate your feedback,” adding “it takes a community and I would not be here without you,” when it was the school board’s turn to make open comments.
School board president Jennifer Bumpus said she has worked to have the board uphold ethics and integrity, but noted “I can only be accountable to what I control.” Bumpus said she found it “sad to see how much of a distraction it caused.”
Screenshots of Barnes seeking input in the private chat group on Facebook put the issue into the open. Another screenshot showed a chat member had knowledge the three superintendent finalists have Christian backgrounds. This concerned district monitors who now wonder how that irrelevant hiring information about the candidates became knowledge and what influence it may have had. “It sends a message you must be a publicly practicing Christian to be a candidate,” parent Cindy Ladd said.
In other news
A new school board member could be seated as soon as the end of March. Applicant interviews are in early March.
The appointee would have the seat until this November’s general election, but can run for election to keep the seat.
Sarah Johnson resigned from her seat in January.
MONROE — A school board member did not violate open government law, the school district’s legal counsel determined. The request for legal consultation was handled under Interim Superintendent Marci Larsen, the district said. Open government experts had independently said the same which the Tribune included in its report here.
More on this story...
Initial story:
What can happen in a closed-door session
School boards and other government boards have limited authority for setting a closed-door session where the public can't attend. More commonly known as an executive session, these are reserved for discussing sensitive items such as a pending lawsuit, evaluating an employee, or discussing real estate.
By its essence, Lockhart contends, a closed-door session is meant to exclude the whole public the whole time. "The pure definition of an executive session is to exclude the public," Lockhart said.
Damerow, the state's open government ombudsman, disagreed that it's that distinct.
"The reason I can't get to that point (to say it's a violation) is you're not 'locked in' at the executive session, they can step out" of the room and might interact with the public, he said.
But if this is permissible, Lockhart said she thinks the law should have firmer separations to uphold excluding the entire public when a closed-door session is called.
Otherwise, certain people might have "insider access" to elected officials during a closed-door meeting by text message or over social media.
Attempts to interview WashCOG’s president for this story were not returned.
Kolrud said when she was on the board, she recalled during one executive session the superintendent phoned a real estate appraiser.
Kolrud likened that "if they can make a phone call" to someone outside the room during a closed-door meeting, it's no different than asking around for comments.
Can hiring interviews for public positions be done behind closed doors?
Members of the public questioned how the school board interviewed the superintendent candidates outside of public view.
The closed-door employee interviews are acceptable in this case, said Damerow. Only interviews for candidates for elected office must always be public, the law says.
Typically, area school boards have interviewed their candidates in the open. It's how Monroe interviewed candidates a year ago to select interim superintendent Marci Larsen.
This time, Monroe's only public interview time was a panel where community members asked the candidates questions before an audience.
Each candidate rotated in for the community panel, while a different candidate was being interviewed in private by the school board.
The public was asked to give feedback on the candidates for a window of time from what they saw in the public panel, including a while after the panel concluded.
