1-26-12 Superintendent offered new two-year contract

Posted by Kevin Spradlin Review Staff Latest Headlines Thursday, January 26th, 2012

ROMNEY — The Hampshire County Board of Education offered Superintendent Robin Lewis a new, two-year contract — with no raise and no buyout clause.

The vote was split 3-2 among the five members, with Board President Bernie Hott, Vice President Linda Baker and member Jim Breinig in favor of the contract offer. Board members Gerald Mathias and Jean Shoemaker voted against the measure.

“I feel that the public was expecting a change and they didn’t get it,” Shoemaker said as explanation for her dissenting vote. “People have spoken (and) expressed their opinion that they thought it was time for a change. They have expressed the fact that our test scores are low (and that) our schools are in the bottom 10 percent in the state.”

Lewis is in the final year of her second two-year contract, which expires June 30. This is her fifth year at the head of Hampshire County public schools. She began work on July 1, 2007, on a one-year contract.

Little discussion took place between board members’ executive session, which was to focus on discussion surrounding Lewis’s contract and board members’ evaluation of Lewis. The 35-minute meeting followed a behind-closed-doors session the previous day with Lewis and all five board members. There, Lewis offered a presentation on accomplishments, job performance and goals and board members were to begin an individual evaluation process.

Tuesday’s executive session lasted one hour and 40 minutes. Hott said Baker volunteered to take home the individual evaluations and summarize them. On Wednesday, Hott said Baker presented the average evaluation from the five board members.

That average, Hott said, “indicated that the summary of all five board members found (Lewis) in all areas met standards or exceeded standards.”

There was no public discussion before or after the vote among board members. The public portion of the meeting lasted one minute.

Hott said Lewis is expected to accept the offer.

“I think so,” Hott said when asked if Lewis would accept. “It’s not a done deal until we get it in writing.”

No mention was made of Lewis’s application to become superintendent in Harrison County or whether she would withdraw from consideration. Lewis applied for that position in early January. Being selected for that position, Lewis said, would put her closer to her aging parents.

“I don’t blame her for that,” Shoemaker said. “If it were my parents, and I had the decision to make, I’d do the same thing.”