Petitioners seek resignations after Springfield school district audit | Springfield News-Leader | news-leader.com

Petitioners seek resignations after Springfield school district audit | Springfield News-Leader | news-leader.com



Unsatisfied with the Springfield school district’s reaction to the state audit, the chief petitioners called for resignations during a Thursday news conference.
They want Superintendent Norm Ridder, Chief Financial Officer Steve Chodes and unspecified school board members to step down.
Virgil Hill, spokesman for the chief petitioners, said the reaction of the district — primarily written responses contained in the audit and statements made since the public delivery of it Friday — should raise concerns.
“SPS parents and patrons must now demand real transparency and accountability by means of substantive institutional reform and changes in district leadership,” said Hill, reading from a prepared statement.
“Given the reaction of several key SPS figures to the audit outcome, which ranged from outrage to indifference to desperate ‘spinning,’ it is apparent that trans-formative change ... remains highly unlikely without significant personnel turnover at the upper levels, both elective and administrative.”
Board president Tom Prater, who has two years left on his term, said voters determine who serves on the board and for how long. In turn, the board hires the superintendent.
“Democracy is a great thing,” Prater said. “Voters get to elect who they want to represent them and provide oversight of the district.”
Two board members were elected last year and three more spots will be decided April 3.
The audit released Friday included 14 areas of concerns and 51 recommended changes. It also noted multiple changes the district has already made.
“At our first opportunity to publicly discuss the state auditor’s findings, Springfield school board members clearly communicated to administrative staff that we expect a prompt and complete assessment of each of the auditor’s 51 recommendations,” Prater added in a written statement. “The auditor has given us 90 days to follow up on these. However, to be accountable to this community, we want to proceed as soon as possible.”
The board has announced it will discuss next steps during a March 27 board meeting.
The petitioners declined to identify which board members should resign but alleged some have “consistently failed to perform their principal statutory obligation for fiduciary oversight and are now vigorously resisting implementation of several of the auditor’s recommendations.”
Petitioners also raised questions about why the board unanimously approved a contract extension for Ridder in January, just weeks after they were told the preliminary findings of the audit during a closed-door meeting with the auditors. Such meetings are a standard step of the audit process.
“The administration and board were apprised of the content of the auditor’s report some months ago. The immediate reaction of the board was to extend the contract of Dr. Ridder due to his leadership during the audit process,” Hill said.

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