I agree completely with Irv Faunce’s letter noting that Tina Meserve was an asset to the district. What happened to her was unfair, and a classic example of how people focused blame and anger on one person for something she was not responsible for. Though I am on the school board, I am not giving an opinion of the board, but only myself.
I recall when Tina Meserve started to enforce the leave policy as it was stipulated in the contract. She got immediate push back because the previous Superintendent had not enforced it – this felt like a dramatic change. She came to the board, explained the situation, and asked what she should do. She said she would follow the board’s recommendation. I actually opposed strictly enforcing the policy, feeling that Dr. Ward’s lenient approach was best. But I was in a minority of about two, the rest of the Board felt it was in the best interest of the school to strictly enforce the contract, though for the first year exceptions would be made to make the transition easier. The board is the reason for that policy, not the Superintendent. She did that with every policy, consulted the board and followed the board’s direction.
There was anger about slow negotiations. The Board negotiating team makes decisions, in consultation with the board on contract negotiations. It is not and was never dominated by the Superintendent. But when there is a pandemic, stress, and unease, it’s easier for people to blame one person.
The result was a kind of groupthink, as everyone simply assumed she was the problem, despite the fact that by all objective accounts she has done a superlative job for the district. In fact, after leaving the board for a year the main reason I decided to run again was a belief that she was doing great things for the district and I wanted to help. To see the way she was turned into a scapegoat leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
We will move forward. People will find that she wasn’t the cause of stress and anxiety, that we face issues that will continue to be very difficult. I also wonder if gender wasn’t an issue here – she had to run a $40 million operation with tough budgetary constraints. That meant at times needing to make tough decisions. But what is done is done. I wish her the best moving forward.
Scott Erb
Farmington
