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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

State Enters Bonner School Fray Superintendent Fox To Send Team To Help Straighten Out District Mess

Public trust in the Bonner County School District has sunk so low, the state has agreed to step in and help run the district, a state lawmaker said Wednesday.

Rep. John Campbell, R-Sandpoint, asked state Superintendent Anne Fox for an advisory team to help straighten out the district’s woes. The request was granted Wednesday after a private meeting in Post Falls with Fox, school district Superintendent Max Harrell and school board Chairwoman Rebecca Hawkins.

“It looks like it’s a go. We just have some details to work out,” Campbell said. “This district is to a point where trust in the administration is gone, and we need someone to help get everything in order.”

The state team will be sent as soon as possible. It will work with district officials to set next year’s budget. The district faces a $544,000 deficit. The team also may help negotiate with teachers, who have worked a year without a contract, and will review how the district spends its money.

Fox was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Her office expects to have more details on the unusual arrangement later this week.

Campbell and Sen. Shawn Keough called for the state Department of Education to investigate the district in February. Patrons complained about a top-heavy, overpaid administration that leaves too little money for students. Campbell said the advisory team will be a continuation of that investigation.

The district has been embroiled in controversy for months. There are allegations of financial mismanagement. Patrons are angry about a possible cut in extracurricular activities. Teachers have voted no confidence in Harrell and administrators.

Special education director Bob Howman, who’s accused of lying to teachers about his background, has run up a $180,000 deficit in his department. A telephone message from Howman about changing books in the central office to match his records was turned over to the attorney general for investigation.

“There’s just been one thing after another here, and whether it’s real or perceived, we need to deal with it,” Campbell said. “I think this team can work with the board, with Harrell’s office, to make sure everything is on the up and up.”

Harrell and the school board chairman agreed to the advisory team idea. Harrell also has sent a request to the attorney general for another team to review the district. Harrell declined to provide a copy of the request to The Spokesman-Review, but said it asks for an audit and review of administrative procedures and a team from the attorney general’s office to spend a month in the district.

“We have local officials, reporters, community members and employees talking about mismanagement and your own headline said there is a ‘scandal’ in the district,” Harrell said. “If the district office doesn’t have credibility, then the attorney general’s office can certainly send up a team to look into this.”

Bob Cooper, a spokesman for the attorney general, said Harrell’s request was received this week. With only a month of school left, it’s unlikely his office could do anything.

“We are considering it, but frankly we may not have all the resources to respond to the request,” said Cooper. “It’s under review.”

Some residents have wondered why the school board has waited so long to take action and address problems.

“There is absolutely no trust right now. I have many people call me upset that board members and administrators are not doing anything,” said Jerry Owens, a parent who is running for a school board seat this month.

“We have been waiting to see some evidence that education is going to move forward and see some financial accountability and responsibility, but it just doesn’t seem to be there.”

Teachers passed a vote of no confidence in Harrell and administrators last week.

The union also called for a hiring sanction, meaning the district will be blacklisted at colleges and universities across the country.

For the past year, teachers were told there is no money for raises. But the school board hired a professional negotiator for $14,500 to handle contract negotiations and then gave administrators a 2.8 percent raise.

Harrell, the 10th-highest paid superintendent in the state at $80,228, has infuriated district patrons. He called for a 50 percent cap on extracurricular activity budgets for next year. The plan, he said, is to slow spending and keep the budget in check.

About 1,300 teachers, students and parents held a town meeting opposing Harrell’s plan. Instead of gutting programs for kids, the group asked Harrell to take a salary cut and slash administration by 50 percent.

The group, Caring Citizens for Kids and Community, has combed the school budget to bolster its point about overpaid administrators and underfunded classrooms. The group wants to present its findings at the next board meeting.

To accommodate all the patrons, the group wanted the meeting moved to the Sandpoint High School gym. The school board declined the request, offering the group a special meeting at a later date.

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