By Ian S. Port
Assistant Editor
Source: Carmel Valley News 02-28-08
The tenure of Del Mar Union School District Superintendent Thomas F. Bishop was ended at a packed meeting Feb. 26, where teachers and parents from the district battled over the legacy of a man who ran one of the county’s highest performing school districts for a decade.
The district’s board of trustees voted 3-2 that evening to buy out the remainder of Bishop’s contract two years early, effectively sending the district chief into resignation.
The board was prohibited from publicly announcing the reasons for seeking to buy out the superintendent’s contract early, which seemed to anger many in attendance.
“I would only consider a decision like this if I really thought it was in the best interest of helping us as a community move forward and continue to have excellence in the classroom,” board president Annette Easton said. “Not all of us see it the same way; not all of us have access to the same information.”
Trustees Janet Lamborghini and Linda Crawford both voted against buying out Bishop’s contract. Easton, Katherine White and Steven McDowell voted in favor of the motion.
“[Bishop] has developed strong educational programs that are the envy of the state, and our children are all the better for it,” Crawford said. “This is a sad day for me.”
Teachers and parents turned out in force Feb. 26 to criticize the board for its decision to remove Bishop, saying the funds used to buy out the contract could have been better spent in a year when the state is likely to slash school funding.
“I have always been proud to be a part of the Del Mar Union School District,” parent and longtime teacher Carole Sharp told the board of trustees. “Tonight I am not proud.”
More than a dozen former and current teachers and employees came out in support of Bishop, highlighting his past leadership and criticizing the board majority for its decision to seek his removal.
“I am truly sorry to see Tom go,” said former DMUSD teacher Linda Castile. “I feel like a series of misstatements and misjudgments have been made by this board.”
Statements opposed to Bishop’s departure earned thunderous applause from the crowd, while a smaller number seemed to cheer for speakers who implied approval of his leaving. But several supporters of the decision to remove the superintendent were present.
“There aren’t a lot of parents here speaking in support of Mr. Bishop because he frankly didn’t listen to parents,” said parent Ginny Merrifield. “He misrepresented the facts, he lied and he collaborated with others to undermine the board. I think that it’s fair to call the question of whether or not he is willing to work with the board.”
Bishop was selected as head of the Del Mar Union School District in 1998, when the district included only three schools. A graduate of UCLA and UC Berkeley, Bishop worked as a teacher and administrator in schools around California before coming to San Diego County and, finally, Del Mar.
His tenure coincided with the growth of development in the city of San Diego east of I-5, an area that would be served largely by the Del Mar district. He oversaw the opening of five schools in Carmel Valley and, importantly, the birth of the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation, a nonprofit that solicits parent donations to help pay for the district’s extended studies curriculum.
Though he commanded fierce loyalty from parents and teachers in the district right up until the moment the board voted to end his contract, Bishop’s leadership began to fuel opposition in later years.
A vocal group of parents criticized Bishop for what they said was a mishandling of the district’s effort to sell the 5-acre Shores property to the city of Del Mar. He was further admonished by some parents who asked for an investigation into the goings-on of the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation — a request that Bishop criticized at the time.
The election of a new three-person majority to the district’s board of trustees in 2006 — amid community-wide controversy — broke up a board that had been seen by some as too supportive of Bishop.
But the lines of division laid out during the past election did not end there, as comments made Feb. 21 vividly illustrated.
“Tom Bishop never had a chance when the three-person majority was elected in 2006,” Jeannie Waite said at the meeting.
Under the terms of the contract buy-out, Bishop will be paid $287,851.86 — equivalent to 18 months of salary — through Oct. 21, 2009. His employment will be formally terminated April 30, but the superintendent’s last day of work will be Feb. 28. (The interim will be taken as vacation days.)
Bishop also receives health benefits through Oct, 31, 2009, unless he becomes otherwise employed. He was not present Feb. 26.
|