Pettit relieved of duties for remainder of contract

For the second time in less than a year, Douglas Unified School District Superintendent Earl Pettit was placed on paid administrative leave by the district.

And, it does not appear it will happen a third time.

The District Governing Board voted on Tuesday evening, January 12, to place Pettit on leave until the end of his current two-year contract, June 30, 2010.

It will cost the district approximately $51,000 to send Pettit home for the remaining five and a half months of the contract.

The 3-2 vote (Board President Charles Hoyack and members Ed Rivera and Patricia Lopez voting for the move, and Susan Kramer and Mario Ramos against it) came near the end of a four-and-a-half hour meeting.

Following an executive session, Hoyack made the motion to relieve the Superintendent of his duties in light of the board’s more thorough review of the investigative report (which was presented at the last meeting).

“Are we going to continue to doing this over and over. It is getting a little bit tiring for everyone,” Kramer said.

Her initial motion was to take “No Action.”

She continued, “This really isn’t a good time. Lets just get on the with business of the district. Where’s our concern for improved quality of education for the district?”

Ramos pointed out that if would be difficult to find someone now.

“There have been a lot of key resignations,” Kramer said and she wondered how another loss of an administrator would impact the district.

During the discussion, Pettit said that 14 times some discussion of his employment had occurred during meetings without an opportunity to defend himself.

During his motion, Hoyack said Pettit had helped create a hostile work environment in the district, and his access to the report comprised the confidentiality promised to district employees.

Kramer repeated her concern about paying Pettit to sit at home and then having to hire someone else to finish out the year.

In a discussion about who would take over while Pettit was gone, the Superintendent said he wrote a  memo on December 22 to the administration setting forth the chain of command.

This only seems to anger Hoyack more since no such memo had made its way to the board.

Pettit then expressed his concerns near the end of the process when Deputy County Attorney Anne Carl, who is serving as the district attorney in this matter, presented a letter to board loosely outlining his Pettit’s duties and responsibilities during this five and a half month paid administrative leave.

“Why is this on district letterhead before anything was even approved by the board?”

Carl said the letter is basically the same letter that Pettit was presented when he was placed on administrative leave last year

At the end of the session, Ramos suggested that the board contact the Arizona School Boards Association to seek their assistance in finding a retired superintendent who might take over during the remainder of the school year.

The board also discussed and approved the release of the redacted 300 page plus investigative report on the Superintendent.

After an executive session, the board approved to release any correspondence through December 23, 2009, between Anne Carl or any member of the Cochise County Attorney's Office and any DUSD Board member regarding the investigation of Pettit by a 3-2 vote.

Based on legal advice, they refused to release any correspondence between Carl and Investigator Pat Cooper or any notes, reports or transcriptions provided to Carl by Cooper.

By a 4—1 vote, the board voted to release the properly redacted report by Cooper. They refused  to release transcripts and interview or exhibits until they have been received by the district and the board has an opportunity to review them.

At the special meeting on January 19 (after presstime), the board  will discuss the release of the redacted transcripts, as well as selection of an interim superintendent and begin the process of selected a new administrator.