Tumwater school board addresses staff’s vote of no confidence in superintendent
In a tense meeting Thursday night, Tumwater School Board president Melissa Beard addressed a vote of no confidence against superintendent Sean Dotson, citing performance concerns and the mismanagement of district funds.
Beard said she received a letter on Nov. 4 from Tumwater school district leaders, including central office staff, principals and assistant principals, regarding the superintendent and district culture concerns. The letter indicated that a number of staff had taken a vote of no confidence against the superintendent, bringing Dotson’s leadership abilities into question.
She said Dotson received a letter on Oct. 21 from the same group that outlined concerns they had with his leadership and issues in the district. The letter said he had until Oct. 29 to respond and address the issues before the vote took place.
Beard said she thought giving someone a week to make improvements didn’t seem like enough time.
“I think what’s going on is the principals have a tough job right now and they don’t feel supported right now,” Beard said. “The board understands that.”
Beard said Dotson said he’s going to look into the mismanagement of district funds and Wayne Leonard, the assistant superintendent of business services, is leading an investigation into the issue.
Board member Darby Kaikkonen said the board also was made aware of issues around employee evaluations, including whether they had been conducted and how they’re conducted across the district. She said the board has provided specific steps the superintendent can take to improve the evaluation process.
The board was made aware of budget shortfalls this summer, and in a November YouTube video, Dotson said that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated issues, putting more financial strain on an already struggling school district.
Copies of the letters sent to Dotson and the board as well as other documents have been requested by The Olympian.
“The information that was provided within the survey and the letter was extremely concerning,” Kaikkonen said. “People are clearly hurting very deeply and are fearing for what could happen as a potential complete void of leadership.”
Beard said the board met in November and adopted a set of goals for Dotson to meet and agreed to evaluate him on the goals in May 2022, which is indicated in his contract. She said she understands staff wants to move this process along, but the board has to stick to the process and system it agreed to.
“We’re going through a really hard time right now, and I’m trying to figure out how we get to the other end, and it’s really really hard,” Beard said. “I’m hurting for our community; I don’t know how we get through this. But I know we need everyone pitching in and working together.”
The Olympian reached out to Dotson for comment Friday afternoon, but did not receive an immediate response.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 1:26 PM.
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