Springfield school board, admin discuss past conflicts, plan for more collaborative future

Springfield school leaders kicked off the year at a retreat characterized by lingering bitterness and tentative hope. 

The Thursday, Aug. 5 meeting brought together leaders after a turbulent year of turnover that included a superintendent’s resignation, contract bargaining, mid-year layoffs and public pressure around the district’s elementary science and social studies curriculum. Two board members resigned. Four administrators filed complaints and threatened to sue board members and the district for retaliation.

But for a day, leaders new and returning met in the same room to discuss past relationship fracture points and needs going forward, as well as short and long-term goals for the district.

Shawn Stover, the district’s newly hired interim superintendent, and facilitator Tenneal Wetherell, the new Lane Education Service District superintendent, acted as bridges through difficult conversations. They validated frustrations, shared expertise and injected optimism while also acknowledging the long road ahead to rebuilding trust between board and district leaders.

“So many of us have the same values, want the same things,” Stover said in his opening speech. “Nobody thinks that some of the things that happened helped move our district forward, but there’s still a sense of hope, there’s a sense of pride, there’s a sense that our people… are our strength.”

Venting frustrations

The main points of contention between board members and district leaders fell into two large categories: poor communication and lack of respect and trust between one another.

District staff expressed a need for board members to trust them and their expertise without getting caught up in personal agendas, or listening only to certain subsets of teachers.

“Most of us have all been at the classroom level, and we care deeply about our work, we’re very connected to the research and our outcomes are improving,” said high school director Mindy LeRoux.

Board members shared stories about not receiving complete information in a timely manner in order to make important decisions, such as the mid-year teacher layoff, a pattern of selective stonewalling and not feeling able to ask questions, receive accommodations or slow down decision-making. Board member Bob Brew said board members felt pressured by staff into making decisions quickly due to the cost of having more meetings.

“I can trust staff without being a rubber stamp,” said Brew.

New assistant superintendent Brian Megert said he has seen administrators take a defensive, suspicious stance when board members ask questions or want more time on decisions because of a lack of mutual respect and understanding. This has led administrators to assume board members have bad intentions.

“It’s all this yucky stuff that exists underneath the surface and as we get rid of all of that, then that operational piece … makes sense to everyone, including the public,” Megert said, referring to board members’ desire for more time or information to make decisions.

Stover said his practice in the past has been to send board members information for an upcoming meeting six days in advance, though he added that board needs have to be balanced with demands on staff.

Getting organized for the 2026-27 year

Leaders also set goals for the new year, separating them into short-term and long-term aspirations.

Short-term goals included:

• Clearer schedules for staff presentations and other priorities at board meetings 
• Timely follow-up on board information requests
• Allowing board members to schedule school visits
• Performing a superintendent evaluation and establishing a permanent superintendent hiring process for the year.

Long-term goals included:

• Consideration of putting a levy on the ballot
• Long-term facility planning, possible school closures
• More investigation of enrollment declines: Exit surveys for families, student satisfaction surveys, following up on reports of bullying, etc.
• State-level advocacy in the legislature

Wetherell and Stover encouraged the board and district staff to keep conversations going in order to build more trust and understanding. Board members and Stover discussed the possibility of board committees and superintendent committees in order to create more spaces for district and board members to collaborate.

“There’s still a lot of hurt, there’s still a lot of stuff kind of sitting there,” Wetherell said in her closing comments. “And we’re at this moment where we both have to remember it, learn from it, but lean forward for the betterment of our students, family and the community and each other.”