Hundreds back Selah principal

SELAH, Wash. -- Intense sentiments erupted once again at a Selah school board meeting Thursday, creating a roller coaster atmosphere of vitriol mixed with praise.

A litany of voices from the audience reiterated one message: Principal Joe Jones is an outstanding educator and person, and the school board needs to follow community wishes to keep him at the high school.

"How many times have you seen a community so upset over a school principal?" asked Brian Harris as he watched residents file into the Selah Civic Center.

Supporters of Jones thronged into the civic center, where the meeting was moved because of the anticipated large crowd. Nearly 500 people, about 125 students among them, told the board and Superintendent Debra Howard they won't be satisfied until Jones' job at the high school is permanent.

There are about 760 students in the school, which includes grades 10-12.

Sophomore Brandon Riddle presented petitions, with more than 1,100 signatures, to the board supporting Jones as high school principal.

"It's abundantly clear what the community wants," said parent Melody-Ann Luke.

"The decision (to move Jones from the high school) seems like a whim," said Wayne Worby, a retired teacher.

"This is a donnybrook," said Dick Overby, a 40-year resident.

Much of the crowd attended the meeting to show their respect for Jones even though he officially withdrew his resignation from the school Wednesday, saying community and student support convinced him that he should remain at the school.

His resignation set off a similar community outcry at a school board meeting two weeks ago. The difference this time was board members decided not to answer questions or react in any way to the crowd. They also restricted public comments to two minutes, cutting off community input after 30 minutes.

That constraint didn't sit well with the crowd, many of whom reacted angrily. Selah police officers at one point had to call for quiet, which prompted most of the group to storm out of the building.

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Outdoors, people gathered to listen to parent Chuck Zeutenhorst accuse the school board of a cover-up, acting as if Jones wanted to leave the high school when he doesn't.

During the school board meeting, much of the 30-minute community input took on the tone of a call to action.

Several people complained that the superintendent and board had mishandled Jones' situation and suggested that a campaign to vote against board members in the next election could occur.

Zeutenhorst accused the board of "horrific arrogance."

"You listen to only what you want to hear," said Fran Harris, a former board member. She said a group of concerned citizens had been meeting to discuss options for community response to the unilateral decision to move Jones.

Another member of the citizens' group, Cherie Ergeson, told the board that their actions have "jeopardized future bonds and levies."

"We have no confidence in you. You can no longer do your job. The only way to make the community healthy again is to resign from your positions," she said.

Resident Tom Woolley agreed, saying after the meeting, "Every one of them has to go, and we've got that in process."

However, not everyone spoke against the board. Teresa Trepanier, wife of school board president Todd Trepanier, said that Jones was the one who took the action to resign.

Two weeks ago, Jones, who has headed the high school for three years, announced his intention to resign, effective in June. He said he did so after Howard, who is in her first year in the district, told him she didn't envision him in the role of high school principal anymore.

Jones said the superintendent told him he might become an assistant principal or be reassigned to a teaching job.

Even though he has rescinded his resignation, it's still unclear if he will remain at the high school. He may be reassigned to another spot in the district.

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Several other administrative changes in the district have also been announced. Shane Backlund, principal at John Campbell Elementary will become human resources director; Chad Quigley, principal of Lince Elementary, will become principal of John Campbell; Susan Petterson, will move from assistant principal at Lince to principal, and Mike Olsen will be assistant principal at both elementary schools.

In a letter addressed to school personnel and the community, Howard and Todd Trepanier said Thursday that Jones' assignment for next year will depend on if the board's and superintendent's goals can be implemented. Those include reducing the drop-out rate and the number of secondary students who choose to leave the district, as well as increasing graduation rates, the letter said.

"Dr. Howard will be responsible for making that decision, and she has, and continues to have, the full support of the school board," the letter said.

Jones said he felt the letter implied misleadingly that he had initiated the resignation because he wanted to pursue other opportunities. He has never wanted to leave, he said.

Jones added that there is a districtwide emphasis on drop-out and transfer rates and predicted that the high school drop-out rate would soon show vast improvement.