Trustees Tracy Ellis-Weit and Corinne Kuhnle chosen as AUSD liaisons and spokespersons

ATASCADERO — On Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 3:30 p.m., the Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees held a special board meeting where they met with Leadership Associates, whom they picked to lead the search for the district’s next superintendent at the Nov. 5 school board meeting. Treasurer Tracy Ellis-Weit was standingpresident at the top of the meeting as President Terri Switzer arrived late.

The meeting started with Oral Communication from the Public. During the portion, community member Nicole Hider brought up concerns regarding item A:2 of Leadership Associates discussion items. The item pertains to a board liaison and spokesperson being chosen from the trustee board.

“Because a board liaison and spokesperson will be dealing directly with Leadership Associates and relaying information between them and the board, I feel it’s vital that the person appointed to this position be as neutral as possible to ensure that the information is presented in its totality and without bias,” stated Hider. “Anyone who’s actively associated with or otherwise supports special interest groups that do not champion public education, such as Moms for Liberty, would likely have a personal or political agenda that might interfere with the neutrality that isdesired in the role of liaison and spokesperson.”

Hider went on to say that she strongly recommended that the board appoint a trustee who has proven to be an advocate for the district and public education.  

“For our community, you’re really going to be seeing the trustees interacting with the search firm professionals about the processes they want,” stated Superintendent Tom Butler at the start of the meeting. “How they want to gather information through the selection process.” 

William Banning and Jackie Horejs from Leadership Associates were back to give the board an organized overview of their search plan and answer any questions the board had. The first item touched on was designating the liaison and spokesperson.

“Generally speaking, the board as a whole, of course, will make all major decisions, but a lot of times, there are just some logistical things that we may need to ask of the board,” Horejs stated. “So, it’s easier for you folks, as well as us, if we have one or two liaisons who are able to help us with the operational kind of decisions that need to be made.”

She added that it is best to have someone appointed to the position who can also be a spokesperson for the board. The liaison did not need to be voted on, simply appointed by the board. Trustee Vy Pierce nominated Trustee Ellis-Weit, with Trustee Matt Pennon agreeing. Ellis-Weit asked that Trustee Corinne Kuhnle be her backup due to Kuhnle’s experience in being a part of the search for Butler.

Pennon stated that he thought they should just have one liaison. Trustees Rebekah Koznek and Denise McGrew-Kane backed Ellis-Weit.

“I would be comfortable with that. You taking the lead between us,” Kuhnle said of Ellis-Weit. “And then we could brainstorm if there were questions or whatnot. I’d be happy to do that.”

Banning stated that Ellis-Weit taking the lead and Kuhnle being the second would work for the firm.

“Part of the process for [Superintendent] applicants is that very soon, it [the job listing] will be posted on our website. We have close to 1,500 people that will know about it the moment it’s posted,” stated Banning. “We will have people that are interested in applying. They don’t submit an application right away. What they do is request an application. A form comes back with the instructions for what they need to do, and they have some time to work on it.” 

The proposed deadline for applicants to have their completed application packet submitted was originally Jan. 10, 2025. Banning went on to say that the firm always tries to get the position descriptions up online before that time. 

When solidifying dates for the continuation of the project, it was first requested that everything be moved back a week. Pierce then asked to set the deadline for applications (now Jan. 17, 2025) and the deadline for approving the superintendent contract (March 4, 2025) but leave the dates for the trustee board consulting with Leadership Associates and the full day of candidate interviews to be decided at a later date. This means that the new trustee members who become part of the board in January 2025 after the election results on Nov. 5, 2024, can be consulted.

“We have members that are going to be involved, that we don’t have their calendars, and that needs to be a discussionwith the full board. So, I don’t think we can decide on those dates,” added Pierce.

It was agreed that the meetings between the application deadline and the final superintendent contract approval would be confirmed after the new board has been sworn in.

The special school board meeting with Leadership Associates can be watched at youtube.com/watch?v=PASnNT7mZjM&t=8777s.