Superintendent’s future subject of Dec.15 meet

Questions  arose concerning the future of Superintendent Earl Pettit  in the Douglas Unified School District at the end of the regular meeting Tuesday.

Board President Charles Hoyack requested a special meeting on December 15 so “the board could continue its discussion of Mr. Pettit’s performance as superintendent of DUSD and  consider possible action concerning employment.”

This will be the second time in two months that Pettit will be evaluated in executive session by the board.

“We had the superintendent’s evaluation in November, and at that time we considered the continuation of the discussion. It was necessary to take care of the selection of a date since Mr. Pettit was to be out of town the rest of the week,” Hoyack said.

He had no other comments concerning the the superintendent’s evaluation in November or the upcoming meeting.

The timing of the meeting is cumbersome since three school board members will be leaving at the end of the month, and three new members will join in January.

“The timing of the meeting really isn’t the best, but it is my opinion that we need to have a discussion,” Hoyack said.

There had been reports of communications problems between various entities and Pettit. Those problems surfaced in a letter to Stevenson School parents from its PTSO officers dated December 9.

The letter discusses concerns about the changes due to possible reconfiguration of the schools. The letter states:

“Stevenson PTSO officers have attended three meetings with Mr. Pettit, PTSO officers  from other schools, and administrators regarding the possible reconfiguration of the schools. At each of the meetings, Stevenson has repeatedly asked that more data be provided before a decision is made. This request has been ignored. As of last night, according to Mr. Pettit, the consensus of this committee is to propose some kind of change.

“This consensus was made before the surveys were reviewed. Be aware that the surveys that you completed last week have no bearing on this decision, and may not have an impact on any final recommendation.

“Please be assured that we have done everything that we can in order to get more information to report back to you. However we have not been successful.”

The letter then urges parents to attend the Tuesday, December 10, school board meeting.

Mr. Pettit was unavailable  for comment. He was out of town at an educational meeting.