Superintendent Jason Faulkner is evaluated annually by the school board, and during his first two years he received a perfect score of 4 after being evaluated on seven different standards.
This year, four of the five school board members continued to give Faulkner a 4 across the board on all seven standards. Board member Troy Grider single-handedly reduced Faulkner’s averages to 3.4, 3.6 and 3.8, for an overall average of 3.5. Those results reflect that Grider rated Faulkner with five 1s, one 2, and one 3.
It was obvious during Thursday night’s board meeting that the other four board members – chairman Terry Harvey, vice chair Destiny Greer, and members Teresa Absher and Dana King – strongly disagreed with Grider’s evaluation of Faulkner’s performance.
The board must vote whether to accept the evaluation, which they did, but not until the four board members made their position clear.
Greer was the first to speak, saying Faulkner provided a lengthy presentation to the board during his evaluation that showed “all the ways the district has grown and prospered and improved over the last year.”
She said Faulkner deserved a score of 4 just as he did in past years, adding, “I feel like he’s done an exceptional job, and this has been his best year yet.”
Absher followed, saying it was “very unfortunate” that Faulkner did not receive an overall score of 4. She noted improved academic performance and his attention to the financing and construction of the new middle school.
King and Harvey also agreed that Faulkner deserved a score of 4, with Harvey noting that test scores have improved and Faulkner came in as a new superintendent in charge of a major construction project.
King agreed with Greer that this has been the best year since Faulkner became superintendent.
“You can just look around campus, talk to people, and it just echoes throughout that things are going in a positive direction,” she said. “I know, as superintendent, you wear a lot of different hats every single day, and you do a fantastic job at all the jobs that you have to manage.”
Grider remained silent throughout the discussion, and the vote was approved unanimously.
Following the meeting, the Community Voice asked Grider why he scored Faulkner so low.
Grider said he disagrees with how Faulkner is handling the disposition of the Columbian Theater. Grider followed with a more serious allegation saying he is advocating for teachers who say they are harassed and have a toxic work environment at Adair County Elementary School.
Grider said he had several teachers contact him last month with complaints.
When asked what complaints have been formally filed concerning the allegations, Grider said complaints had been filed with him, and he had turned in a letter listing the complaints.
Other board members were asked if they had received complaints and they all said no. Absher noted that after an incident on May 13 when Grider went to ACES and demanded to “get statements” from the administration, 15 to 20 teachers and staff attended the next school board meeting to show support for the administration.
Stacey Page, ACES secretary, spoke at the meeting, sharing a positive message about the school’s staff and work environment, and was followed with a round of applause from the audience.
Page, ACES principal Jordan Williams and assistant principal Will Rich have all filed grievances against Grider.
The Community Voice has filed an open records request with the board of education and received documents pertaining to allegations Grider has made as well as grievances that have been filed against Grider. There are no related grievances filed by teachers or other staff at ACES with the school district against the school’s principal or the administration.
Text messages that began between Faulkner and Grider on May 7 reflect Grider angrily accusing Faulkner of failing to investigate his accusations. Grider said he would provide anonymous letters to support his claims. Faulkner responded that he had investigated everything he had been given.
Documents received by the Voice include a two-page letter by Grider that claims to be written by three staff members at ACES. No names are provided. The letter lists issues such as favoritism and inappropriate comments. The letter was emailed to Faulkner and school board members by Grider on May 13, after he had been turned away during the incident at ACES. He comments about the incident in the email that contains the letter.
One series of texts between Grider and Faulkner reflect an underlying situation involving a family member of Grider’s. The Voice has learned from sources close to the situation that the family member had received a negative review at ACES and ultimately did not have her contract renewed.
On May 12, Carolee Lloyd, human resources officer, questioned several teachers at ACES and reported that she found no information to support Grider’s claims.
According to sources close to the situation, Grider’s family member was terminated the next day, on May 13.
According to documents as well as an audio recording received by the Voice, later that same day Grider entered ACES and demanded to speak with Williams and Rich, saying he wanted to get statements from them for an investigation. When they refused to allow him past the front office of the school, he said he had statements about legal issues that were going to result in state and federal investigations. Williams insisted that Grider leave and called the School Resource Officer to come to the front office. Grider exited the building.
School board members cannot legally get involved in personnel issues, with very few exceptions.
Williams, Rich and Page all filed grievances against Grider after the incident. The grievances call for the board to enforce boundaries that prohibit board members from influencing staff or personnel matters, and for the board to follow legal precedent for the possible removal of a board member. The grievances have been sent to school board members.
The Voice has filed other open records requests with state agencies and will provide further information if new information is received. The Voice has confirmed that a related complaint against Faulkner filed with the Education Professional Standards Board has been closed due to insufficient evidence of conduct that may have occurred that violates state law. The case was closed June 17.
After last week’s meeting, Faulkner made the following statement to the Voice:
“Regardless of what my evaluation says, I feel that this was our best year by far in the last three years that I’ve been here. Our test scores were higher. We’re in a much stronger shape financially than we’ve been in the last three years.
“I really feel that the score that I received is a reflection of personal issues, not necessarily professional ones.
“To address that, I’m going to continue to do what’s right for our students in our school system. I’m going to remain consistent, regardless of what that costs me, either professionally or personally. And I’m not going to be intimidated from upholding my responsibilities to this district. It was my promise three years ago that I would be fair. I would be honest. I wouldn’t play into the politics, and that’s how I’m going to continue to lead.”
Williams was contacted about the allegations and provided the following statement:
“From the beginning, I cooperated fully in the investigation of these allegations. After a thorough investigation by Superintendent Faulkner the allegations were found to have no merit. Even in the absence of a formal complaint, the allegations were taken seriously. To be clear, I deny any inappropriate conduct.”
By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com
