How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKEPORT, Calif. – Only a month after they took their seats, three new members of the Lakeport Unified School District Board voted Wednesday night to terminate the superintendent without cause, a move that will cost the district a year’s worth of salary and benefits and one which school staff said could lead to a mass exodus.
Superintendent April Leiferman went into two separate closed session meetings with the board on Wednesday evening, emerging ahead of them after the second one, with the board coming out separately less than an hour later to report the termination decision.
Board Chair Dan Buffalo, and fellow members Carly Alvord and Jennifer Hanson voted to terminate Leiferman’s contract, with Lori Holmes voting no and Phil Kirby abstaining.
The previous board had hired Leiferman in May 2017, approving a three-year contract with an annual salary of $154,234 and health and welfare benefits not to exceed $14,500 each year.
Buffalo said both the state education code and Leiferman’s contract call for her to be paid for a full year after termination without cause. He said the district is letting its attorneys figure out how Leiferman’s severance amount will be paid.
Alvord, Buffalo and Hanson ran on a unified platform in the November election. From the beginning they took an antagonistic stance toward district leadership, including Leiferman, particularly after the previous board in October removed Rachel Paarsch from the Terrace Middle School principal’s job, a move Paarsch and her supporters blamed primarily on Leiferman. Paarsch is Kirby’s daughter and a longtime friend of Alvord.
The stage for Wednesday evening’s action appeared set late last month, after the new board called a special meeting two days after Christmas – while the district was closed and Leiferman was on vacation – and hired its own attorney to advise it in matters including its relationship with the district superintendent, as Lake County News has reported.
That attorney, Kristin Lindgren of the firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, was directed at the board at that time to prepare a report on a personnel matter topic for the special closed session held Wednesday evening, ahead of the board’s regular meeting.
After the board’s decision on Wednesday, Buffalo said that there will be “a very deliberate process” to find the district’s next leader.
He told Lake County News that the board asked him to start seeking potential candidates for an interim transition team, and he’s talked to several community members about an interim superintendent.
“I think it’s clear we’re not as prepared as we’d like to be,” he acknowledged.
Asked for an estimate of when a permanent superintendent could be in place, Buffalo said April and May are big months for hiring school administrators.
With Leiferman’s departure, the district now has two key leadership positions to fill – Business Manager Lynn Thomasson has tendered her resignation and is returning to Kelseyville Unified, where she previously worked. Thomasson was at the board’s special Dec. 27 meeting, at which time they asked to do an exit interview with her to discuss her reasons for leaving.
Several district employees have told Lake County News that Leiferman had strong support among them. They’ve said they’re afraid of speaking out publicly out of concern they will become targets of the new board.
Some of those who spoke with Lake County News at the Wednesday meeting said they were considering resigning from the district because of the increasingly difficult atmosphere.
They also said they believe the situation is leading to numerous students being pulled from the district to attend schools in Upper Lake and Kelseyville.
Closed sessions ahead of termination
The board convened at 5 p.m. Wednesday in open session at the district office before a standing-room-only audience, many of them teachers, staff and other district personnel, along with parents.
Kirby, the board’s clerk, opened the meeting, explaining that Buffalo had texted him to say he would be late.
They opened up to public comment, none was offered, and then moved into a closed session in another part of the district office building, leaving the dozens of audience members waiting for them.
Leiferman went into the closed session with them and emerged along with the board at 6 p.m., at which point Buffalo – who had joined them after they went into the private discussion – saying they were still discussing several items on the agenda and planned to go back into closed session.
The board then took public comment from several individuals, including parent Joe Szupello, who said he was sick and tired of the drama the new school board had created. “It is time to focus on our kids.”
He blamed the new board for carrying out personal vendettas, saying people are afraid of speaking up due to fear. Szupello faulted them for the Dec. 27 decision to hire another attorney to deal with the superintendent.
They also heard from a parent concerned that her son suffered a concussion at school, having been knocked down by another student. Buffalo at that point directed Leiferman to investigate the situation and report back.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen also notified the board that his agency is planning active shooter training at the campus during spring break and that he is working to begin a new police dog program that he plans to use to enhance school safety at the district.
Also during public comment, Rob Alves, a math teacher at Clear Lake High School, submitted a letter from the school’s staff in support of keeping the current administration – including Principal Jill Falconer – in place.
The letter credited Falconer’s leadership for establishing an island of calm and helping students thrive. It said a change in the current administration could result in the loss of highly qualified staff and would counter the campaign platform of the new board members.
The Clear Lake High School letter addressed concerns that numerous staffers have shared with Lake County News about a major shakeup in the district’s leadership, and which would be echoed by other employees later in the meeting.
The board then left for another closed session at 6:23 p.m. Kirby came out at 7:53 p.m., noting he had to recuse himself. Rachel Paarsch and her husband were both in the audience, waiting for the rest of the board to come out.
At approximately 8:11 p.m., Leiferman emerged, looking into the meeting room from a side door. She appeared visibly upset, and disappeared minutes later.
Buffalo came out at 8:33 p.m. to get Kirby, and then at 8:41 p.m. the entire board emerged with Tami Carley, the superintendent’s secretary, but without Leiferman herself.
Kirby announced action taken on several other closed session items before Buffalo announced that the board had voted to terminate Leiferman’s contract, without cause.
He then said they were tabling the rest of the night’s agenda and ending the meeting just after 8:45 p.m., with plans for a special meeting – initially called for 10 a.m. but later moved to 2 p.m. Saturday at the district office – to discuss the transition. The goal is to have an interim superintendent in place by Monday.
Kirby, who is a retired school administrator with a lifetime credential, said he would be available in the meantime to take on any superintendent’s duties.
At that point the Paarschs and some other audience members left.
Employees ‘sick and tired’ of new board
However, about three-quarters of the audience, most of them district employees, stayed in place, with several individuals – among them, Darren Wells, the classified union representative – haranguing the board about the decision to abruptly end a meeting for which they had approved the agenda.
Wells, slapping a paper on his hand, told them he had union matters to discuss with them and they needed to keep the meeting going. When it looked like they might continue with ending the meeting, Wells said, “Now you're just being terrible.”
An audience member turned to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg and asked if there was anything he could do.
“They’re the board,” Falkenberg said.
“We're new, bear with us” said Buffalo as one female staffer rose and left in anger.
Buffalo apologized and said ending the meeting incorrectly had been his fault. Kirby suggested they reconvene and Buffalo said they would continue with the rest of the meeting.
During the next hour, as the board worked through the remaining items on its agenda, including a discussion on signage for vehicle searches that ultimately was tabled for future consideration.
As the meeting continued, numerous questions arose about who would act in the superintendent’s place. Buffalo said the board would be discussing it. Some agenda items also had to be held over, as Leiferman had been set to present them.
Then Wells went to the podium to tell the board how he and fellow classified employees felt about them.
He said staff is concerned about the money the board has spent from the general fund for another attorney. Paraprofessionals also are upset about a letter Buffalo had sent out about hiring more of their number when some of them have very few hours as it is and work for only $2 more an hour than minimum wage.
Wells read comments from a number of fellow employees, who were not named. “Everything that is happening in this district is scaring the crud out of me,” one wrote, noting the situation made them not want to come to work.
Others complained that Alvord, Buffalo and Hanson had trashed the district’s reputation during the campaign. The employee statements told the board they needed to observe the schools more before making drastic decisions, with staff reporting that only Holmes and Kirby have been seen on campus.
The board also was admonished that to remove anyone without first letting a good working relationship develop would be flat out wrong.
“The board has district employees fearful for the future of LUSD,” one individual wrote.
The statements Wells read also accused the new board members and Kirby of not working in the best interests of students but instead taking purely retaliatory actions on behalf of their wife, sisters, best friends and daughters, apparent references to Buffalo’s wife and Alvord’s sisters, and to Paarsch, Alvord’s friend and Kirby’s daughter.
The comments also accused the new board of using word of mouth and social media to make uninformed statements about Lakeport Elementary School. They were told they needed to meet with that school’s principal, Aaron Carter, and form an opinion of his ability.
Wells told the new board, “Our classified employees are sick and tired of you guys already,” adding that people are calling him around the clock, every day of the week, with their concerns, and that he has his union team on standby.
“It is retaliation, most people feel,” Wells said.
Buffalo responded that the new board has a desperate desire to open up communication, honesty and deliberately. “We want to move forward together, as one unit, as one organization.”
Wells then raised the issue of the special, last-minute meeting called during Christmas week, when it was pointed out by another audience member that both Holmes and Leiferman had been on vacation. Holmes, however, had called in and participated by phone.
“Transparency, I think not,” Wells said.
During the meeting, Holmes said she did not agree with firing Leiferman, noting she felt she was a competent superintendent.
“Her intent was always what's best for the kids,” said Holmes. “I'm sad to see her go.”
Holmes also told her fellow board members, “You guys are moving really fast for me,” and that she finds it very scary. Similarly, she said they’ve spooked a lot of the district staff. She said she felt the Dec. 27 meeting, while the district was closed, was not a good move.
“When I started I made mistakes, too,” she said, and recalled the help Tom Powers and Dennis Darling – who were defeated in the November election – for their guidance and experience.
She said there are difficult decisions ahead and that the board needed to focus on its own education and training. She asked that a series of board policies be brought back for future discussion. “There are laws we have to follow and if we break those laws, there are consequences for it.”
Holmes said she, Hanson and Alvord had attended an effective governance workshop at the Lake County Office of Education and said it was very helpful. She said the trainer will come and work with new boards, and she encouraged Buffalo to take training.
She also brought Christmas presents to the new board members, copies of a book Holmes was given by former Superintendent Erin Hagberg when she joined the board, titled, “How Not To Be A Terrible School Board Member.”
She requested they not make big decisions until they had more training, and that they slow down a big. “I'm just a little bit scared,” she said, with the audience giving her a round of applause.
Kirby asked staff to maintain their sense of commitment and passion as they work with the district’s children every day. He said he would check with the Lake County Office of Education on Thursday to make sure there isn’t any potential conflict in being both a board member and the acting superintendent.
Buffalo thanked Holmes for her comments. “We did move very quickly. I take full responsibility for that,” he said.
He added, “In my case I felt we had to do that, we had to do what we did.”
Alvord asked for patience, tolerance and help. “We've known each other our whole lives.”
She continued, “Let's help each other. Let's stop tearing each other down.”
Former Board member Lynn Andre, who hadn’t sought reelection in November, told them that superintendent candidates do their homework before applying to districts. “They're not going to be lining up to come to this.”
She said the board needed to learn its roles, understand its responsibilities and try its best to mend the situation.
Steve Newnham, who teaches government, economics and world history at Clear Lake High and is the teachers union president, told the board that the money they are having to pay out on Leiferman’s contract is coming from the general fund and that it amounted to taking a 4-percent raise away from every district staff member.
He said the supply of teachers is very low and they can go elsewhere, so Newnham suggested they be creative and find a way to get district staffers raises.
Newnham said the teachers union is not a radical group, and is here to help. However, he warned, “Don’t confuse our willingness to help the district as a weakness.”
He added, “I'm worried that you're going to see a mass exodus.”
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