From the Idaho Press-Tribune
CALDWELL — Residents of Caldwell packed the school district board room Monday night to address trustees with a host of questions and expressions of disappointment one week after the board removed Superintendent Tim Rosandick and Assistant Superintendent Luci Asumendi from active duty status.
Trustees remained silent as several individuals approached the podium during a designated period for public comment. The special meeting was held mostly to appoint Jodie Mills as the interim superintendent for the 2015-16 school year — a motion that passed by a unanimous vote — but it turned into an indictment of the board’s actions last week.
One week ago, trustees passed addendums to Rosandick and Asumendi’s contracts with the school district that relieved them of active duty in their roles. The two will stay on as “consultants” to the board and district officials until their contracts expire next June.
To date, the only explanation given for the move is the one Bill Gigray, attorney for the school district, continued to repeat Monday night.
“There are times unfortunately in the management of affairs of either a school district or other entities where there can be circumstances where the cohesive, or unified, or mutual supportive management just does not exist or is in a struggling situation,” Gigray said.
“As I recall the situation … there was a mutual agreement reached that there needed to be an action taken that all could agree to so this whole process could move on.”
There is no confidentiality clause in the addendums barring Rosandick, Asumendi or any of the trustees from giving more detail about the situation, but Rosandick and several trustees have declined to comment further. Board Chairman Chuck Stout and Trustee Leif Skyving both declined to comment again Monday night.
Chuck Randolph, who worked in the Caldwell School District for 16 years and said he had Rosandick as a student, had six questions for the board. First, he said he wanted a definition for the “situation” Gigray referenced and what happened that was so egregious, Rosandick and Asumendi had to be removed immediately. In the time he was employed by the district, Randolph said the only individuals who were removed from their positions immediately had broken the law in some way or acted inappropriately.
“None of that appears to apply, because the board — according to the (Idaho) Press-Tribune — thanked them for their service and kept them on as paid consultants,” Randolph said. “Please define the situation that was so egregious they could not only not fulfill an assigned 2015-16 contract, but not even finish the 2014-15 contract that would have gone through June 30.”
Randolph also asked what the new direction of the school district would be, and why it was so time sensitive that the action of removing the superintendents needed to be taken so quickly. He also wanted to know the plans for hiring a permanent replacement for Rosandick, addressing the expenditure of paying out the superintendents’ contracts, the apparent “self-imposed gag rule” on the part of trustees, and the “collateral damage” that would take place from the action.
Randolph was referring to the early retirement of Gini Rosandick, who is Tim Rosandick’s wife. Gini Rosandick has been the orchestra teacher at Caldwell High School for nearly 20 years, and her groups have received many awards for their accomplishments under her direction. Randolph said in the 49 years he has been involved in education, she is one of three of the best teachers he has ever seen.
Shelly McKee, who called herself a “regular parent” in Caldwell School District, also expressed sadness about Gini Rosandick’s early retirement.
“My son is just going into high school and was so looking forward to being in her orchestra. I just think it’s a huge loss, huge … that’s a gem in this district. It’s huge. And I just think it’s shameful that it’s over,” McKee said.
She added that she and other parents felt “stonewalled” by the board, and that there was no real way to find the answers to their questions.
From the Idaho Press-Tribune