Lehman resigns from district

Olympia School Board has had 3 vacancies in past 6 months

By Venice Buhain | The Olympian • Published July 01, 2008

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OLYMPIA – The Olympia School Board will attempt to fill its third vacancy in six months after seven-year member Russ Lehman resigned Monday.

Lehman, who had a stroke this year, cited health reasons and heavily criticized the Olympia board and administration in a letter addressed to the public.

"It has become clear to me now, that my recovery would be best served by resigning my position on the board," he wrote. "The stresses inherent in serving on a board that continues to suffer severe leadership and organizational problems are at this time, simply too disadvantageous to my health."

Lehman's resignation comes three days after board vice president Bob Shirley quit Friday, also citing health reasons.

The resignations come six months after ex-board member Rich Nafziger quit in January, citing a conflict of interest with his job working for state Democrats.

The two latest resignations leave board president Carolyn Barclift as the sole member with more than a year's experience. Board member Frank Wilson was elected in November and Allen Miller, appointed to replace Nafziger, started a little more than a month ago.

Health and frustration

Bob Shirley said Monday that he had been planning to leave the board to take care of a personal nonlife-threatening health issue, which he declined to disclose.

But Shirley said he decided to leave now because the board learned last Tuesday that many of the top-paid administration employees are protected from layoffs. A state-imposed May 15 deadline to lay off district employees with teaching certificates has passed.

Shirley and Lehman both had wanted to look at cutting administrator positions to meet a $84.6 million budget. The district must find about $2.4 million in cuts.

"I didn't see how my presence on the board would make a difference one way or another," Shirley said.

Like Shirley, Lehman said he was frustrated by the board's inability to reduce the number of supervisors as a way to save teaching positions.

"As previously noted, we were not presented with the Superintendent's budget until after that date," he wrote. "The only way to justify a budget making process like the one described, is to subscribe to the belief that the board's role is merely that of approving whatever the district passes along."