Superintendent evaluation
The January board meeting of the Trustees of the Plains School District was a packed house of parents, taxpayers, and community members with concerns. The lack of certification of the Superintendent, (as required by her employment contract and Montana Code Annotated), and her continued pay during this time, was the primary topic of conversation during public participation on non-agenda items.
The potential liability for not enforcing one contract over others, and the discrimination complaints following, will have a fiscal impact on our district. My concerns are for Plains Schools as a whole and the ultimate outcomes in educating our children. After regularly attending board meetings, I am concerned for several reasons: declining enrollment, lack of transparency, a culture of NO when it comes to opportunities for our children, lack of certified teachers in the classrooms, and more.
At the Jan. 20, 2025 meeting, the trustees of Plains Schools approved minutes from their special meeting on Nov. 11, 2024 to approve spending an additional $18,000 over the next two years on audit services based on Superintendent Walsh’s recommendation. In her remarks, she stated it was to, among other things, “meet deadlines.”
The irony... For the educational leader of the school to be unable to meet the deadlines (yes – two of them) for certification and the board to not hold her accountable is concerning. Also at this meeting, the board voted to obtain a legal retainer – for what specific purpose was not outlined and no amount was specified. It was stated the money would come from the Superintendent’s budget. Is that not part of the general fund? How much will our district spend in legal fees to investigate the breached contract?
Plains Schools' loss of enrolled students over the last two years is six times the state level. We are currently down 61 students over the last two years. Since our future funding is based on enrollment numbers (ANB~Average Number Belonging). I am fearful the district could be looking at a shortage in funding in excess of $200,000.00. Every time the topic comes up the first thing mentioned is cutting the very people educating our children. I urge the conversation to shift around looking at tightening up our administrative staff and to focus on what our kids need: certified teachers in the classrooms, digital options for classes we are unable to offer, and paraprofessionals to aide our students in learning.
The Trustees, accepting the recommendation from administration, agreed to start charging students $123 to take some MTDA classes (foreign language excluded). This action seems to directly conflict with current school board policy and has the potential to further lose ANB money for our district. Many students will be unable to afford this amount, even if it is refunded upon their passing grade at the end of the semester. It was mentioned that these classes would eventually be paid by a grant? It was also later stated charging for the classes would not affect ANB. Which is it? Is our district unknowingly double dipping from students and taxpayers?
It has been suggested it is the fault of OPI (Office of Public Instruction) that Superintendent Walsh doesn’t show certification(s) by the deadline(s) in the contract (July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024). If that is the case, then OPI should issue a written statement to that effect, but more importantly, our superintendent should have been following up on this issue repeatedly.
Furthermore, the board was notified on Oct. 8, 2024 there was an issue surrounding the lack of certification/breach of contract, with follow up on Oct. 17 and Oct. 31. On Jan. 17,, 2025 (more than six months after the second deadline to complete the certifications required had passed; and coincidently the day after the letter sent by concerned taxpayers went to the board), the Provisional license showed up on OPI for Superintendent Walsh.
Why is certification important? A certified superintendent is one that has taken classes to educate themselves in the unique laws surrounding Montana School Finance, Montana Open Meeting Laws, Montana Collective Bargaining Laws and other related topics. Superintendent Walsh has years of experience in education - that is not the concern. What is lacking and what is required of her contractually and legally is to further educate herself on issues specific to publicly funded Montana school districts. To fail to educate herself on these topics is to fail our students, our community, our taxpayers and the future of our school. For transparency, why doesn’t Dr. Walsh produce the transcripts of the classes she has taken to satisfy the requirements to be a certified superintendent in Montana?
The trustees recently completed the superintendent evaluation on Jan. 20, 2025. When asked to provide a date to further discuss the concerns brought forth, Chairman French stated there were legal issues, they would not drag it out, but it would most likely be at the next regularly scheduled board meeting: Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. If you can’t attend the meeting in person, Trustees can be reached via email at: beau.french@plainsschools.net; monica.weedeman@plainsschools.net; lana.dicken@plainsschools.net; steve.spurr@plainsschools.net; ellen.childress@plainsschools.net.
I hope people will attend the next board meeting to inform themselves of the issues and let their elected Trustees know what is important to them.
Erika Lawyer, Plains