By Philip Haldiman, Independent Newsmedia

Thursday’s Peoria Unified School District Governing Board meeting played out in rare fashion, finally giving employees  and parents some insight as to the replacement of Superintendent Darwin Stiffer, only months after they gave him a bonus.

Additionally, it was revealed that employees encountered personnel and leadership issues with Mr. Stiffler and that he packed up his things and moved everything out of his office a month before a decision was  made about his employment.

The board voted 3-2 to oust Mr. Stiffler, with governing board members Kathy Knecht and David Sandoval dissenting.

Mr. Stiffler said in an emailed statement that the Peoria Unified community has every reason to be proud of its schools. He stated the staff is absolutely dedicated in their service of the students, and that he is grateful to have been able to work alongside them.

His one-year contract expires June 30, 2018, but will be terminated effective Dec. 31.

He will be paid the remainder of his base salary in a lump sum within ten days of the separation, amounting to $85,656.

“It is with sadness that I formally separate from the Peoria Unified School District as its superintendent,” he stated. “It had been my hope that the drama and stress of the last few months could have been avoided. The process and rules of executive session only seemed to amplify the situation however. I regret that I was unable to successfully work with some members of the governing board and am frustrated by how some are spinning the circumstances. I held out hope of reconciliation until Nov. 6 when the governing board instructed its attorney to draft a separation agreement with me. At that point, I removed myself from the stage in order to allow the district to focus on its students rather than its leadership.”

Following the separation vote, the board voted unanimously for Chief Instructional Officer Steve Savoy to replace Mr. Stiffler until an interim candidate is chosen.

He will have the authority to sign official district documents and act as superintendent until the board can select an interim superintendent.

Mr Savoy has been with the district for more than 30 years, and has a superintendent certificate, which included an internship that lasted for six months to a year, followed by a lengthy exam. PUSD has less than 20 people who have this certificate.

Looking forward, the board agreed to discuss an interim superintendent at a future meeting and appoint someone by mid-January.

“I do not intend to fill  the superintendent vacancy, but I  care very deeply about this district and want to be part of the solution so the board can select the best candidate,” he said.

BOARD STATEMENTS

Board President Beverly Pingerelli said her decision to oust Mr. Stiffler focused on how he lacked the leadership skills needed to educate and serve the district’s 37,000 students, as well as maintain and enhance a culture that empowers teachers, administrators and staff.

“I believe key ingredients to a district’s success is a superintendent’s leadership and vision, compliance to district policy and the law. And mutual respect between the superintendent and each governing board member. As one of your board members, I feel each ingredient for this recipe of success must be significantly demonstrated by a superintendent,” she said.

Additionally, Ms. Pingerelli revealed that Mr. Stiffler, who has been using his discretionary time off since Nov. 8, packed up his office and unexpectedly made the decision to abandon the district without notification to the governing board.

“I don’t call that a leader. Our superintendent needs to be accountable for that action and many others,” she said. “We all need to own and be accountable for our actions. To me, that is a big part of the definition of leadership.”

Ms. Pingerelli and Governing Board member Monica Ceja Martinez raised concerns at a September meeting about Mr. Stiffler’s decision to provide $4,500 annually in car allowances to six administrators without board approval. They were forced to repay the money, totaling about $5,200.

Ms. Ceja Martinez alluded to this in her statement.

“The decision was not difficult for me because the information brought forward was clear,” she said. “There have been governing board meetings that have been publicly held and information that was discussed about personnel issues that have made it very clear ... As a teacher, we ask ourselves, would you put your kid in his class, and to me, I would not put my boys in his class, and that’s why I am deciding to move forward and accept his separation.”

Ms. Knecht said it is no secret Mr. Stiffler made some mistakes in his brief time in the district but she supported him, citing a steep learning curve that comes with helming the fourth largest  public school district in Arizona.

“I’m not here to make excuses for the mistakes, and I was certainly prepared to make specific goals and direction to him moving forward,” she said. “I will say that as issues were brought to light, they were addressed and rectified immediately and that none of the errors were made for personal benefit. His motives seemed consistent with a leader who wanted to inspire an organization and community to embrace a new vision and direction.”

Ms. Knecht has grown increasingly unsatisfied with the board’s decisions in recent months and called the ousting a political move, which some audience members responded to by applauding.

“Removing Dr. Stiffler is just one step in a larger strategy to gain power and control. This board does not exist for acquiring power and control. It exists for providing students with a quality education that prepares them for tomorrow,” she said. “It was my hope that we could have helped Dr. Stiffler to be successful and move further along that path.”

Mr. Sandoval said there is certainly a lot of discomfort and uncertainty across the district and that the district should move forward with a replacement in a timely manner.

“I feel that Dr. Stiffler is the right person for this seat, and I’m not in agreement with the separation, so I’ll leave it at that,” he said.

ANNUAL REVIEWS

Before Thursday’s meeting, school board members have been relatively silent on reasons for a possible severing of Mr. Stiffler from the district, citing that information discussed in executive sessions cannot be made public.

In Arizona, municipalities and school boards are allowed to discuss certain items away from the limelight of the public arena. These closed-door meetings are known as executive sessions, and Mr. Stiffler has been the subject of at least four of them since Oct. 16.

But public records requests for Mr. Stiffler’s annual evaluations from all five governing board members for the 2016-17 school year reveal some insight on why Ms. Pingerelli, Ms. Ceja  Martinez and Ms. Doane may have voted to fire him.

The evaluation forms are broken down into five categories: board relations, community relations, strategic planning, staff & personnel relations, and business & finance.

The categories are rated on a 4 to 1 number scale with performance exceeding standards and expectations being a four and performance failing to meet standards and expectations being a one.

Ms. Pingerelli rated Mr. Stiffler ones in all categories except for community relations. She stated Mr. Stiffler acted unprofessionally, including dangerous driving in the district’s parking lot, and pejorative comments directed to his staff regarding one or more governing board members, and a lack of overall leadership ability to adequately resolve employee conflict.

In the annual review, Ms. Pingerelli recommended Mr. Stiffler fully embrace policy and state law, seek additional management training and “make a significant effort to mend governing board relationships and reestablish trust with both the governing board and members of his staff.”

Ms. Ceja Martinez rated Mr. Stiffler ones in business & finance as well as staff & personnel relations, and twos in strategic planning and board relations. She noted that providing travel stipends without governing board approval redirected funds that should have been allocated to the classroom, resulting in seeking legal advice.

“My observations of this practice is seen in multiple situations and is noted as a trend,” Ms. Ceja Martinez stated.

She said Mr. Stiffler’s behavior and comments toward other employees have been deemed inappropriate and recommended he continue to focus on Peoria Unified culture and morale, work on inclusion efforts, review hiring practices, and trainings that support the district’s employee handbook.

Ms. Doane stated in the overall performance section: “It appears to me that Dr. Stiffler is going around the board, intentionally not informing or consulting the board before making controversial decisions or some financial decisions. I have reached the point where I do not trust the motives or integrity of our superintendent. I have heard from numerous community members examples of poor choices and behavior and that they feel Dr. Stiffler not good for PUSD.”

Mr. Stiffler stated in an email he did not receive copies of some the evaluation documents until very recently.

“The governing board/superintendent relationship was not healthy. I own 50 percent of that,” he said. “I was charged with increasing teacher morale and retention, we did. Math scores went up and we were beginning to address reading scores.”

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS

Generally, superintendent reviews are held in executive sessions.

Board members have the opportunity to discuss with the superintendent any items on which the board fails to achieve consensus, according to district policy. A copy of any written evaluation should be given to the superintendent, and if he or she disagrees with the evaluations, the superintendent may respond in writing.

Sherman Dorn, director of educational leadership and innovation at Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, said holding executive sessions for a superintendent’s evaluation is common. He said discussing such matters in public could affect the district moving forward.

“Sometimes it is appropriate to describe all the circumstances behind a personnel action,” he said. “But it can also be in the public interest to avoid a protracted, public conflict that would make it difficult to conduct a successful search for the next superintendent.”

More about Stiffler

Employment: Superintendent Stiffler started with PUSD July 1, 2016 after serving as superintendent of Yuma School District 1.

Salary: $171,313

Bonus: In June, he received a $9,107 bonus for meeting four of six metrics over the 2016-17 school year. He retained his starting base salary.

Executive sessions: Mr. Stiffler has been using his discretionary time off since Nov. 8 and has been the subject of at least four closed-door sessions since Oct. 16.