The last three weeks at Adams County School District 50 have been tumultuous to say the least. Three executive sessions by the Board of Education with attorneys just in one week dealing with personnel matters. Rumors were flying all over the place. Speculation was rampant. Administrative staff was tense. But the decision came which was final and unanimous on Thursday, April 14, by the school board. Superintendent Roberta Selleck is out. She walked away in “retirement” with $239,000 of our taxpayer dollars. While it was a bitter pill to swallow, it was needed as well as worth it in the long run.
Healing process needed
And now the harder part begins – the healing in the community and within the school district. It won’t come quick and it won’t be easy. As I stated last week, the community, Westminster city officials as well as district employees have been divided over Selleck. We have been divided over what she stood for, what she did or didn’t do, how she went about it and the environment, which she created. Roberta Selleck was and is a change agent. Take the label however you wish. That is what the board wanted in 2006 when they hired her without vetting her back in Illinois at her previous job. They were overly focused on hiring someone who could successfully pass a bond issue.
Accomplishments
As a change agent, she accomplished some key changes at District 50 and credit should be given. She had the gumption to propose going to a single high school which made a lot of sense over the past several years given the traumatic decline in student enrollment from 17,000-plus to more than 10,000. Such a recommendation had a lot of emotional strings attached given the loyalty of Ranum and Westminster high schools devotees. She led the charge successfully on the $90 million bond issue, which was represented to fund a new high school, a single new elementary school and numerous repairs and rehab to other aging school buildings. Unfortunately, Selleck and the district spent way too much on the size and cost of the high school at the expense of the remaining older buildings. She brought the district the standards-based system concept changing the approach in delivering education to students of all abilities. The jury is still out on whether SBS will be successful.
Moving forward
With Selleck exiting the district, Pam Swanson steps in as interim superintendent. As deputy superintendent, she is quite capable of stepping in to lead the district forward and begin the healing process. She is respected among the quality personnel who have much pride in their work and want to see the district succeed in educating the approximate 10,000 students. And Swanson knows SBS front and back. This educational approach will move forward under the guidance of the team of administrators and teachers who have been working on it all along. Remember, Roberta Selleck and SBS are two separate things. They are not connected at the hip. SBS will go forward, but will need continued tweaking as it progresses. Contract negotiations between the district and the WEA will be successfully concluded. The budget challenges will be worked through and a balanced budget will be presented to the board for its deliberations. There will be tough budget decisions because of less funding, but they were there all along. Life will go forward at District 50.
Work to be done
Fundamentally, the district now must demonstrate increased transparency both internally and externally, initiate genuine outreach efforts to engage the community and rebuild trust, and the administrators need to be forthright with the board even if it means acknowledging bad calls.
Bill Christopher is former city manager of Westminster and used to represent District J on the RTD board of directors.