Centura officials address teacher resignations

Emily Webb didn't mince words about why she was at the Centura school board's meeting Monday night.

"All we want is the truth," said Webb, a junior at Centura. "We want to know why the teachers are leaving, why nothing is being done to keep them here, why this is such a big secret."

Many of the 70 Centura patrons -- including about 20 students -- who had filled the school's little theater had the same concerns.

Six of the district's 50 teachers and administrators had resigned this year, the first with a new superintendent and high school principal. Rumors were swirling about dissatisfaction with administration, and they wanted answers.

After a little bit of prodding, they eventually got some.

Superintendent Ken Heinz noted that several of the departures had been in the works since before he arrived last summer, and some were unrelated to administrative issues.

Heinz also noted that the district had five teachers leave last year and said that compared with other districts about Centura's size, the number of departures was not abnormal.

That being said, Heinz acknowledged that the departures concerned him, too.

"We don't like teachers leaving," he said. "It makes me feel sick."

He said the district "didn't start the year well" when he arrived after the retirement of former Superintendent Dave Schley to find that the school was facing a serious budget shortfall.

Heinz quickly instituted stricter policies for expense approval and staff oversight. He said he wished he could have had more time to get to know staff members and explain his changes before implementing them, but he added that he'd do it all over again if he had to.

He said the district is doing everything it can to keep its current teachers and make high-quality hires.

And though he said he couldn't discuss specific teachers' situations because of privacy rules regarding personnel issues, he encouraged patrons and students to visit him with questions.

"There's a lot of misconceptions, wrong assumptions being made that all of a sudden become truth," Heinz said.

Heinz's statements, along with those of secondary principal Theresa Petska and several school board members, helped defuse what had been a heated board meeting.

At least 10 people addressed the board during its public comment period, bringing up concerns about issues ranging from staff departures to Styrofoam lunch trays to dress codes to graduation dates.

A few expressed support of the board, but several asked pointed questions that went unanswered as the board moved quickly from speaker to speaker.

When the public comment period ended after about 40 minutes, the crowd was still restless, groaning and grumbling as the board continued its meeting.

Finally, a few residents interjected and asked the board to answer the public's questions, especially since several of them revolved around a perceived lack of communication from the district.

"I think the constituents are here to say that we're here to communicate," Allan Simmons said to the board. "Throw us a bone."

That urging prompted Heinz's explanation, which elicited a thank-you from at least one patron and largely deflated the tension in the room.

Several board members stressed that they were trying to do what was best for the district and its students. They asked residents for patience while they dealt with the aftermath of the district's budget crisis.

"I hate to see people go, but change is inevitable," said board member Craig Welty. "And sometimes change is good, and sometimes change is not so good, and you never know which until you get the road a little bit.”