Board voted Tuesday to buy out contract
Source: http://signonsandiego.com/news/education/20080228-9999-1mc28bishop.html
By Bruce Lieberman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 28, 2008
DEL MAR – Tom Bishop, the departing schools chief for the Del Mar Union School District, began yesterday to sift through a decade of work and memories after the school board voted 3-2 on Tuesday to buy out his contract.
Tom Bishop
The outgoing superintendent will leave the district on vacation this Friday and officially resign April 30.
Yesterday, he said he would not criticize the school board's decision. But he said that he probably would have stayed if a majority of trustees wanted him there and that he had no other reasons for wanting to quit.
“The board that hired you is not always the board you have when you leave,” Bishop said. “It doesn't always work well, and my departure is an example of that.”
Bishop, 58, said he was proud of his role in leading the district through a decade of remarkable growth, when the number of schools grew from three to eight and the teaching staff increased from 70 to 250. The district now enrolls about 3,800 students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
“The facilities are top-rate, and especially what goes on in the classrooms is top-rate,” he said.
Bishop will leave the district with a healthy $5 million reserve, equal to 14 percent of the budget. The state requires school districts to keep a 3 percent reserve.
He said yesterday that he hopes trustees use the money to weather the state budget crisis, which is expected to cause a $1 million shortfall in Del Mar Union in 2008-09.
California districts without Del Mar's financial cushion are considering layoffs and program cuts to make ends meet.
On Tuesday night, a divided school board voted to buy out Bishop's contract, which will cost at least $287,000 and likely more than $300,000. Trustees Annette Easton, Katherine White and Steve McDowell, who voted for the buyout, have commanded a political majority on the board since late 2006. They had long criticized Bishop for wielding too much power and not listening to parents.
Bishop's critics have said the superintendent angered parents during school attendance boundary changes in 2002, had formed too close a relationship between the district and its independent parent-run nonprofit foundation, and had not been open enough concerning the sale of the Del Mar Shores school property. It's now in escrow with the city.
Some parents have been angered by district talks to start a Spanish language immersion program – a move they claim has not sufficiently involved parents.
At Tuesday's meeting, a handful of parents said it was time for a change in leadership.
But they were far outnumbered by an angry crowd of parents and teachers Tuesday, some of whom called the buyout a waste of money at a time when the district may ask parents to help offset budget cuts.
“I'm going to have to dig very deep to get the motivation to run that campaign when our school board is willing to throw away hundreds of thousands of dollars on this resignation agreement,” said Janet Pecsar, a parent at Del Mar Hills Elementary School.
Trustee Janet Lamborghini, who joined Linda Crawford in voting against the buyout, said she had “unqualified confidence” in Bishop and that he delivered “one of the best educational programs in the state.”
Bishop began his career more than three decades ago teaching high school government, history and English, and he later taught English in middle school and then the fifth grade. Before coming to Del Mar in 1998, Bishop was a superintendent of the Jamul-Dulzura Union School District for 12 years.
Bishop said he has great affection for the community in Del Mar, and he praised teachers, parents, and trustees for their dedication.
He acknowledged that he upset some parents during a decade of rapid growth and dizzying change that required setting new attendance boundaries – a contentious process in any school district.
“There's no doubt that the boundary adjustment was very divisive,” Bishop said. Easton was elected to the school board during that turmoil.
The district today is settled to the point that people who buy houses have a good idea of where their children will attend school for 20 to 30 years, he said.
Bishop said he has also set high academic expectations for all students. Last year, the district scored 947 on the state's Academic Performance Index, a multifaceted measure of academic achievement that ranges from 200 to 1,000. The district had the highest API score in the county in 2007, and the seventh highest in the state.
As the parent foundation continues to raise money to provide music, art, science and physical education teachers, trustees will struggle with equity issues, Bishop said.
He said he has wanted all schools to be treated equally, but some parents have wanted to donate just to their own campuses. The board allows parents to pay for up to two teaching positions at their child's school.
On Tuesday, Easton said trustees would not comment on the decision to buy out Bishop's contract.
On Friday, the board is scheduled to meet privately to discuss hiring an interim superintendent.
- Bruce Lieberman: (760) 476-8205; bruce.lieberman@uniontrib.com
Source: http://signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080308/news_lz1mc8lets.html
Focusing on Del Mar School District
I am writing to clarify statements I made that were quoted in “Schools chief looks back on his tenure” (Our North County, Feb. 28).
The article implied that I will be less motivated to financially support my district due to Superintendent Tom Bishop's forced resignation and buyout of his contract. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am overflowing with motivation to donate my time and money to my school and district. I have to look no further than my school's outstanding teachers and exceptional programs to find that motivation.
The quote that “I am going to have to dig deep to get the motivation to run such a campaign” referred to a letter-writing campaign focused on our legislators in Sacramento to fight the governor's proposed budget cuts. My next statement to the school board was that I will run that campaign, regardless of how they voted on the resignation, because I believe that I have a voice in government.
I recognize and appreciate the programs that my children enjoy at our school that are not paid for by public funds, and will continue to support those programs. While I respectfully disagree with the school board's decision, I will not let that stop me from supporting my school and district.
JANET PECSAR
Del Mar
I take issue with the newspaper's coverage of the Del Mar Union School District. Specifically, the coverage of the hot lunch proceeds that were diverted, the missing money at Del Mar Hieghts Elementary School and of the recent board meeting accepting Tom Bishop's resignation. Where, for example, were the mention of reprimands that were placed on Bishop? Where were any quotes from anyone supporting the board?
CORINNE HACKBART
Del Mar
Bruce Lieberman: (760) 476-8205; 
