School veteran, novice vie

Fri., Oct. 19, 2007

By Sara Leaming sarale@spokesman.com

Christie Querna

Age: 62

Occupation: Former high school teacher; longtime district volunteer

Political experience: Elected to Spokane school board in 1995; ran unopposed in 2001

Notable: She's running what she considers a "minimalist campaign." Querna was given the endorsement by the state teachers union, but returned a monetary donation from the group. "I didn't want to go out and solicit money," Querna said. "I'm kind of running on my history as a school board member; I think if people feel comfortable with the past 12 years of my time, then I am not going to change my stripes much."

Norbert Leute Jr.

Age: 52

Occupation: Substitute teacher; retired from U.S. Air Force

Political experience: None

Notable: Decided to seek election because of problems with special education practices in Spokane schools, even though he is restricted from teaching special education in Spokane because of poor performance evaluations. He wants more transparency about problems in the schools, he said. "At least I'm getting out there … getting on that soapbox a little," Leute said.

The race for Position 3 on the Spokane school board pits an incumbent with 12 years of service against a substitute teacher with a not-so-perfect performance record.

After announcing she would not seek re-election, incumbent Christie Querna, 62, changed her mind and is seeking a third, but shorter, term on the five-member board. The seat is only for two years, to fill the remainder of the term left vacant by Don Barlow, who was elected to the state Legislature.

Querna, a former high school teacher and longtime district volunteer, said she felt her experience as a member of the board over the past 12 years would be an asset in the search for a leader for Spokane Public Schools, to replace Brian Benzel, who retired this spring. She has been involved with Spokane schools since her adult children started kindergarten.

“Hiring a superintendent is probably one of our very most important functions,” Querna said. “If I were to leave … it felt a little undone.

“We have been blessed with … very strong leadership at the superintendent level. I would really hate to see something go sideways,” Querna said.

Opponent Norbert Leute Jr., 52, decided to run for the open seat after witnessing what he said are substandard special education practices. Leute, who retired from the U.S. Air Force, has been a substitute teacher in Spokane for 18 months. He has two children who graduated from Spokane schools.

“I ran into a child who is basically illiterate and was told not to bother with him because he can’t read,” Leute said.

But according to district officials Leute is no longer teaching special education classrooms. He was restricted from being called as a substitute in those classrooms after several substandard reviews of his performance.

Although officials could not give specifics because it’s a personnel issue, some of the problems that could be recorded on a performance evaluation include: not following lesson plans, failing to take attendance, not leaving written communication for regular teacher, inability to engage students, arriving late or leaving early, being unpleasant or disrespectful to staff and students, or lack of classroom management.

There were five schools that requested he not return, said Barb Wright, associate superintendent for human resources.

He can still teach in the regular classroom, Wright said.

Leute, however, said he was mistreated by district officials and that the observations of his performance are false. He claims he was bullied by district officials, and was not given an opportunity to defend himself. He has been considering a lawsuit.

“I speak from the heart; I know the reality of me winning and stuff,” Leute said. “There’s just a lot of things in District 81 people are just not aware of, and there’s not really an outlet for anybody to complain.”