District parts ways with superintendent

Note: this version has been corrected to explain the cost to the district, about $359,000, includes one year of salary and benefits, as negotiated in the separation agreement.

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In a 5-2 vote following more than 30 minutes of public comments for and against the action, the McMinnville School Board chose Monday evening to sign a separation agreement with Superintendent Debbie Brockett.

Her four years leading the district will end June 30; she will remain on leave until that time. Brockett appointed Steffanie Frost, director of human resources, as acting superintendent in her absence.

Frost said she will work closely with the district leadership team, which includes the directors of finances, facilities, student services and curriculum, instruction and assessment, to ensure everything is done in the best interests of students.

The separation agreement, signed by Brockett prior to the school board meeting, states the district will terminate her contract without cause and will pay her salary and insurance benefits through the 2025-26 school year. Brockett, in turn, agreed not to seek any legal recourse against the district.

Cost to the district will be about $359,000, said School Board Chairman Jason Bizon, who opposed the move.The amount includes one year of salary, which is about $207,000 annually, along with insurance and benefits; earlier, it was throught the district would need to pay for two years of her contract, but the negotiated settlement  was for just one.

Vice-Chair Abbie Warmbier also voted against firing Brockett. Voting in favor were LuAnn Anderson, Christine Bader, Gerardo Partida, Doris Towery and Larry Vollmer.

“I understand how hard your job is, but please make the right decision for the education of the children,” pleaded Alesandra Jimenez, a McMinnville High School student, one of 16 people who spoke during the public forum prior to the vote.

She said she loves her community and her school, and wants to see the best outcome for them. “Changes happen. Mistakes will be made,” she said. “We need to learn and grow and come together.”

Brockett joined the district in July 2021 after working many years as a special education teacher, then an administrator in the Las Vegas School District, one of the largest in the nation.

She signed a three-year contract with an option for a one-year extension after each annual evaluation. She notified the board earlier this year she would not seek another extension, ending her contract after the 2026-27 school year.

Prior to the separation vote, the board discussed and ultimately denied acceptance of Brockett’s 2025 evaluation that was completed last month.

Brockett had been rated on eight categories, such as visional leadership and organizational management, and given one four, six threes and a two on a four-point scale.

Board member Bader said she considered the evaluation invalid because it was based on information only from the superintendent and the board’s observation, rather than on a survey of staff, parents and other stakeholders. Three other members agreed, rejecting the evaluation in a 4-3 vote.

As an “at-will employee,” the superintendent’s contract stated she could be let go at any time “without cause.” An occurrence of malfeasance or misconduct could lead to her firing “for cause” – something that was never considered in this case – that would be subject to courtroom challenge, said school district council Nancy Hungerford.

Hungerford noted to the News-Register that “without cause doesn’t mean there weren’t reasons.”

Hungerford introduced the contract agenda item Monday night, explaining details of the superintendent’s status, contract and separation agreement, and told the board they must weigh the financial consequences of terminating Brockett with possible consequences if they don’t make that decision.

Board members acknowledged frustration that public demands for full transparency in their reasoning will not be fulfilled in this case. Bader noted it is “inappropriate and sometimes illegal to discuss specific personnel cases in public, and the details of those.”

Instead, they offered generalized insight into the situation, often noting it was a difficult decision not taken lightly.

Bader discussed her four-point framework for how she evaluates personnel in general in her roles as manager, coach or school board member: one-on-one interactions, publicly observable behavior, other people’s perceptions and outcomes and impacts.

“Let’s look at the data,” she emphasized regarding her fourth point. “It’s not the only thing that matters, but I think the metrics, we agree, are important. So whether that’s staff retention rates … (or) do we have more schools targeted by ODE or fewer. And a lot of our data is publicly available.”

Bizon read a statement from Brockett, who said she had always followed one guiding principle as an educator: “Always do what’s best for students.” Given the current “tensions and mistrust surrounding the board’s perception of my leadership,” she said, she signed the agreement in the best interest of the community and district’s ability to thrive.

“I am leaving because certain board members have made a decision about my superintendency without ever engaging in direct conversation with me,” she wrote. “They have not asked questions, sought clarification or shown a willingness to collaborate.”

She asked listeners to “support the next superintendent … provide them with what I did not receive: unified support and the professional courtesy every leader deserves.”

Towery called the matter “incredibly unsettling,” but thanked attendees for their input and asked them to “keep the conversation going” in an effort to improve schools.

Bader thanked them as well, saying “the more eyes on our work, the better … continue to hold us accountable.” Anderson added, “We all want to put kids back at the center with integrity and transparency.”

Warmbier noted it has been a difficult school year and apologized for the added “distraction” being caused and for the fact that “without a leader, it adds to everyone’s workloads.”

Bizon added that he is “saddened the community had to endure this. Our leaders have to be supported.”

The school board meeting room was packed with people for Monday’s meeting. The district’s school resource officer was on hand.

While a few families left after their children made a presentation about attendance efforts to Newby Elementary School, about 60 people stayed for the duration of the three-hour-plus session. Many others watched on Zoom.

The crowd was mostly quiet, although a brief smattering of applause broke out after the board took its vote.

Sixteen community members, parents, staff and two leaders from the McMinnville Education Association (McEA) teachers’ union, testified in person during the public forum.

The board also received several written statements on the topic, which will be added to the meeting’s minutes.

McEA members who spoke in support of Brockett were Michelle Formway and Polly Dunkley; the latter is president of the union, but said she was speaking for herself, not the organization.

Formway called the superintendent “professional,” “deeply committed to students” and “a strong advocate for teachers.” She praised Brockett’s work on negotiations last year that resulted in a new teacher contract.

“I’m concerned we are on the verge of dismissing a capable leader without cause,” especially in times of funding shortages and nationwide turmoil, she said.

John Olson, president/CEO of the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce, called Brockett a “true community leader” who is “always focused on students.” He noted her leadership in creating workforce education programs that prepare students for jobs in the community as adults.

Good schools, with a good leader, “strengthen the entire local economy,” Olson said. The business community wants to see stable schools in which they can have confidence, he added.

Carson Benner, who was on the board when Brockett was hired and served two terms as chair during her tenure, said many community members contacted him asking why the board would consider letting her go.

“There’s nothing there,” he said, meaning she hasn’t done anything to deserve termination. “Nothing there. Yet, still you’re going to throw her out.”

Benner lightly thumped his open hands on the comments table. “The cost is sending the district down the road with no leadership,” he said. “This is shameful, disrespectful to the community.”

Among those who favored firing the superintendent was Jill Long, a former teacher and grant writer who brought in $16 million to support district programs.

She said she quit when Brockett arrived to the district and told her, “I don’t believe in grants,” claiming they don’t support ongoing programs.

Long argued the money she sought was leveraged into many continuing programs that helped student achievement in the district grow “exponentially.” Since Long left, she said, achievement has declined.

Several other former staff members who left the district during Brockett’s tenure for a variety of reasons testified in favor of a change in leadership.

Melanie Martinoff, former board secretary and executive assistant to the superintendent, said she filed a written complaint about the superintendent in December 2021, and supports a change in leadership “regardless of the cost.”

Former Grandhaven Principal and Mac High Assistant Principal Veronica Chase sent an email to board members thanking them for their “dedicated leadership and the time you are taking to consider a needed change on behalf of our community.”

Chase said McMinnville had been a model district that led the state. “It has been disheartening over the past few years to experience the decline in the laser-like focus and outstanding achievement for which we were once known,” she said.

The district needs leadership that is “truly aligned to our community needs and the outcomes we’ve set out to achieve on behalf of our children,” said Chase, who has kids in McMinnville schools.

“It needs someone who is committed to doing the best for students and who is committed to the community, who is willing to listen to collectively build a plan rather than using our district for their own goals and gain,” she said.

Jessica Payne, a parent and McMinnville city councilor (although she did not identify herself as such), said the superintendent has “under-delivered and overpromised” and that “toxic relationships” have resulted. She said her attempts to work with Brockett have been “met with disrespect” and worse, she said, and urged, “no change would hurt.”

Karleen Booth, a longtime educator who taught English Language Learner classes in McMinnville, said she has “deep concerns and deeper hope” that a new leader will make decisions based on “comprehensive data.” She also called for a leader with empathy who will build positive relationships with staff.

Booth cited Brockett’s ending of the district’s bilingual program, in which English and Spanish speakers learned together in both languages, as a major concern.

Jasmine Juarez, vice president of the district’s Hispanic Parent-Teacher Association, said the group’s members are upset about that program demise, as well. “The Hispanic community felt neglected,” she said, blaming both the superintendent and the board, who she said “failed to listen to our concerns.”

Questioning the wisdom of firing Brockett were several members of the school budget committee, which reviews the staff’s proposed budget.

Jerry Hart, who once served as an attorney for the district, said the possibility of terminating the superintendent “raised a red flag” with him.

“I hope the resolution will not add unduly to the budget deficit,” he said, noting Brockett has predicted the district must deal with a $3 million shortfall for 2025-26. “It will make this year’s budget cycle challenging.”

Hart also called on the board to “make a decision that reflects the community.”

Another budget committee member, John Linder, expressed concern that “a no-cause termination is unappealing to future applicants,” for the superintendency or other jobs in the district. He appealed for an explanation for the board’s action.

Many of the commenters wondered what happened to cause the board to terminate the superintendent, seemingly out of the blue.

The board evaluates her annually and decides whether to add a year to her rolling three-year contract. This year, the board had been discussing her employment for weeks: after she missed her contract’s Feb. 1 deadline to notify the district she would seek an extension, essentially signaling she would be staying only two more years; again during a 4 1/2-hour executive session for her evaluation in early March; and again at an April 3 executive session.

She was expected to attend an executive session scheduled for March 12 that would have been a follow-up to the evaluation; she cancelled the meeting a day before it was to happen.

The board also scheduled an executive session about her contract for Friday, April 11 – which it held, although she had already taken leave earlier that day.

The previous day, April 10, Brockett sent an email to administrators and union leaders, saying that the board “has decided to put forward a motion for my termination without cause” and that she had recently received a positive evaluation.

Friday morning, board chairman Bizon posted on Facebook that he supports the superintendent and would not vote for her termination, citing among other reasons the cost of such an action. That raised public concerns.

Now that Brockett is out, the board’s next step probably will be to hire an interim superintendent for the coming school year, starting July 1. It also could pursue hiring a permanent superintendent at this point, but April is late in the hiring season, so an interim is more likely.

Board members will discuss the matter at their next public work session, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 28, in the district office, 800 N.E. Lafayette Ave., McMinnville.