Selah looks ahead as schools chief saga ends

SELAH, Wash. -- A festive air -- as well as a sigh of relief -- will infuse Selah over the next few days.

Festive because the 90th Community Days celebration is running through Sunday.

Relief because the saga over the school super-intendent has run its course.

On Wednesday, Debra Howard announced her resignation as super-intendent, effective June 30.

As part of the resignation agreement, Howard will receive a year's salary -- $128,562 -- as well as other compensation, such as for unused vacation days.

The one-year buyout was part of the three-year contract the board signed with Howard in February.

Howard said Wednesday that she would be returning to Spokane, where her husband and her permanent home are.

When asked if Howard will be working from Spokane for the rest of the school year or a good portion of it, Todd Trepanier, Selah School Board president, answered, "She'll be fulfilling her duties as superintendent; we're not thinking in terms of location."

Howard was unavailable for comment Thursday.

The next step for the school board will be finding an interim superintendent by June 30 who will serve one year while the board looks for Howard's permanent replacement. What that process entails is not yet clear, Trepanier said.

The board will use the services of Northwest Leadership Associates, a Spokane firm that helps school districts find and screen superintendent candidates. It could be utilized for helping find both the interim and permanent candidates.

The firm aided the board in the selection process when Howard was hired in May 2008. As part of the contract with Selah, the firm offers its services again at no extra charge if a superintendent serves for less than two years.

Several community members have been critical of the firm because one of its six team members is James Howard, Debra's husband.

However, both Trepanier and Dennis Ray, president and owner of Northwest Leadership Associates, denied that James had anything to do with his wife's hiring in Selah last year.

"He's a contract employee; he was not involved with the Selah search, and the school board was well aware that he was a consultant," said Ray.

Trepanier explained that he didn't believe James Howard, who coordinates Washington State Univer-sity's field-based principal's certification program, would be involved in the new superintendent search, adding, "He had no part in it last time."

The school board was scheduled to accept Debra Howard's resignation last night at its regular monthly meeting.

Parent Chuck Zeutenhorst, who has been a vocal critic of the superintendent, said he was pleased Thursday that Selah can move forward now.

"Our agenda has always been threefold. First, to get past the lunacy over Joe Jones and get him back at the high school. Second, to get Dr. Howard back to Spokane, and third, to revamp the board.

"Two for three is a pretty good batting average."

Zeutenhorst is not convinced that all the school board members deserve to be re-elected. "My frustration is, to this day, they never set forth what any of the issues were."

Saying that there is still a disconnect between the board and community, Zeutenhorst expressed disappointment that "it's taken enormous public pressure to make any changes."

The public pressure was evident for several tumultuous months, when hundreds of community members and high school students swarmed into school board meetings in protest. They were reacting to the resignation of Jones as principal of the high school. Many indicated they felt Howard had forced Jones to resign.

Even after Jones rescinded his resignation in April, and Howard announced that he would continue as high school principal, not all community members were appeased.

But now, with Howard's stepping aside, there's a general feeling of getting back to business and focusing on the future.

"We're pretty pleased with what she accomplished, but in looking forward, eventually it's what's best for the community in this," Trepanier said.

Jones, the fulcrum of the controversy concerning Howard, expressed appreciation for the support of the community and said he wished Howard well.

"I hope she finds an opportunity that fits her best," he said.

In the past few months, community members had found fault with Howard's selection partly because she had never been a classroom teacher or principal. She has worked in several different school districts as a school speech therapist, learning specialist and special education coordinator as well as interim superintendent in the East Valley School District in Spokane.

Others pointed out that she hadn't put down roots in Selah, keeping her permanent residence in Spokane.

Howard had her supporters, too. Barb Petrea, PTO president at Selah Intermediate School, pointed out, "Dr. Howard has a lot of great attributes. She's done a great job of communicating and has been very open."

Saying that Howard's leaving was not a winning situation for anyone, Petrea noted that there may have been areas where Howard needed to improve.

"Maybe she lacked insight in how to mentor the staff, but in the end, all she was trying to do was good."

Trepanier said that the board will move carefully in choosing a new superintendent, soliciting involvement from faculty and the community. "It's an exciting direction ahead. We're committed to keeping Selah strong and improving," he said.