As board vacancies persist, Cascade Union Elementary District superintendent faces vote of no confidence from teachers

A bare majority of Cascade Union Elementary School District board members met Wednesday night. The district serves about 1,100 K-8 students at four schools in Anderson.

After the resignations of three of five board CUESD members late last month, a temporary board member was appointed at CUESD, restoring a quorum and allowing the board to function again. But an attempt to appoint permanent members failed Wednesday, after the sole applicant who applied for one of three vacant positions failed to appear for a public interview.

The beleaguered district also faced a new — related — challenge this week, a vote of no confidence in District Superintendent Jason Provence. 

Recently resigned board members had accused Provence of undermining their authority by engaging in “regressive bargaining,” or proposing a raise amount for teachers that was less than the governing board had approved. Teachers have similar concerns according to a spokesperson for the Anderson Cascade Teachers Association who spoke at the CUESD board meeting this week.

“How effective can [Provence’s] leadership truly be, when the people in the classroom no longer have confidence in it?” Kristina Taylor, the president of the teachers association, asked the board as she presented the vote of no confidence.

“This is not a step we took lightly. It follows careful consideration of ongoing concerns,” Taylor continued, citing among teacher’s allegations that the administration has pitted employees against each other while prioritizing administrative staff over classroom needs. Provence declined to comment.

The 72% vote of no confidence represented the participation of almost all of the approximately 50 Anderson Cascade Teachers Association union members. According to Taylor, that group includes not only teachers but also speech pathologists, district nurses, and psychologists — although not all qualifying staff opt in to union membership. 

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During last night’s meeting, the small boardroom was packed shoulder to shoulder with parents and staff though many were there for a different presentation. Public commenters at the meeting included former Board President Rod Hayes.

“All of this is because the teachers want the same raise everyone else got in the last two years. Nothing more,” Hayes told the board in reference to recent upheaval. “The district office should unite a district, not divide it.”

But a woman who identified herself as Kaili Gillham, a psychology intern with the district who’s listed as Kaili Crye in the staff directory, said she appreciated Provence’s thoughtful approach to bargaining adding that the superintendent appears to be “approaching these decisions with a long-term lens, carefully considering the district’s overall fiscal stability.”

Application period extended in hopes of filling vacancies

Last night, trustees informally agreed to reopen the application window to fill board vacancies but did not vote on the matter or formally set a date for applications to close. The board did agree to hold a special board meeting for April 28 at 4 p.m., during which candidates will be publicly interviewed. 

CUESD Board President Diane Kimball said after the meeting that the new deadline for applications will be April 24. She advised that applicants should take a good look at the trustee map to ensure their residency falls within the appropriate area for the seat each applicant hopes to fill.

But while the district’s application packet includes the map she referenced, it lacks any identifying information about which areas of the district each of the three current vacancies would represent.

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