New West Ada School District trustees Russell Joki and Julie Madsen were sworn in Tuesday evening — and they were quick to question the decision to extend Superintendent Linda Clark’s contract.
As Idaho Education News first reported in June, trustees voted to extend Clark’s contract to 2018, bumping her 2015-16 pay to about $143,475.29. The board vote was 3-2 — and two of the trustees who supported the extension no longer sit on the board. Joki won the open seat vacated by Janet Calinsky, while Madsen ousted incumbent Anne Ritter in the May election.
Joki suggested the new-look board may consider reversing the contract extension, the Idaho Statesman’s Bill Roberts reported Wednesday.
Roberts also reported a testy exchange between Joki and Clark, over her comments in a recent Idaho Education News story on teacher evaluations. Clark said it was “unconscionable” for districts or charter schools to give all of their teachers identical ratings.
“We don’t know how many of our administrators are proficient,” said Joki. Clark countered by saying she is evaluated annually.
In other school board news, Caldwell trustee Leif Skyving responded to a potential recall drive, denying that he had an “extreme distaste” for ousted Superintendent Tim Rosandick.
“Now they’re coming up with suppositions of why things happen,” Skyving told Kelcie Moseley of the Idaho Press-Tribune. “I think that’s too bad.”
Skyving was one of three trustees who voted to oust Rosandick and deputy superintendent Luci Asumendi — a shakeup that remains unexplained. The recall drive names Skyving and fellow trustee Amy Rojas.
