On Aug. 27, members of the Battle Ground School District Board of Directors issued a statement regarding the way former Superintendent Shonny Bria’s departure was handled, acknowledging that the way they went about the process was not in the best interest of the district and community.
The letter was released the morning of Aug. 27 after it was discussed and signed by all five board members following an executive session after the regular board meeting that same day. Board President John Idsinga and board members Monty Anderson, Ken Root, Mavis Nickels and Steve Pagel each had input into the drafting of the letter, which Idsinga said they had been working on for about six weeks.
“The board felt we needed to issue some sort of an apology,” Idsinga said. “That really is the gist of it. We’re not trying to cause anybody anymore harm. We are trying to move forward in a positive manner.”
Back in June, board members announced that Bria was offered a settlement agreement in lieu of the two remaining years on her contract, a total of $401,715. The agreement included a portion of the remaining salary she was owed, benefits and pay for accrued and unused vacation and sick leave. Although the agreement wasn’t made public until June 26, it was actually signed by the board members April 29, the same day Bria announced her “retirement.”
In the Aug. 27 apology letter, board members acknowledged that a lack of transparency has caused them to violate the trust of those they serve.
Over the past several weeks, several board members have confirmed that Bria did not retire, but was asked to leave the district. However, a section of the apology letter states: “Late last spring, we believed it was in the best interest of Battle Ground Schools to support Shonny Bria’s desire to retire so the district could transition to new leadership. With your approval of the $24.4 million levy in April, 2013, we were all optimistically looking toward the future with a common goal of ‘preparing our children to succeed in the next step of their lives.’ Educating students is why we are all here. Unfortunately as we navigated the leadership transition, we failed in our responsibility to openly share the facts.”
Addressing the use of the word “retire” in the letter, Idsinga said, “It’s a polite way of saying we’re making changes. The point of the letter is to apologize.”
Idsinga also stressed that the board members are not “professionals” and said there are some things they learn as they go along. All of the current board members, along with candidates who are running for board positions in the November General Election, will actually participate in some board training sessions this month. Idsinga said board training is something that hasn’t been done at all with any of the current board members, and he feels it will be beneficial to the group.
Board members have also recently decided to add night meetings during the 2013-2014 school year in order to attract more public participation and input. During an Aug. 26 regular board meeting, board members set their regular meeting calendar for the new school year. For the most part, there will be two meetings per month, one of them at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of the month and one at 4 p.m. on the fourth Monday. There are a few exceptions, and the full schedule of board meetings is posted on the district website, www.battlegroundps.org, under the “School Board” link on the right side of the page.
This past school year, there was usually one scheduled meeting per month, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Most meetings again will be at the former Lewisville Middle School, 406 NW Sixth Ave., Building C, Room 26, Battle Ground.
“As public officials, we take full responsibility for our actions and we understand the way we went about this process was not in the best interest of our district and community,” the apology letter states. “It is our intention to learn from our mistakes, earn back your trust and move forward with a renewed sense of commitment to serve you.”
Download the PDF of the School Board's apology letter at the left of this page.
