School board extends superintendent contract despite concerns

Greer read from Thornton’s statement, “If you look back and do some of your own investigation you will see that Mr. Carter basically destroyed Rainier School District. History is repeating itself through intimidation, constant bullying, loss of staff and students.”

Carter was a defendant in a lawsuit brought by two former Rainier School District teaching assistants in 2017. The lawsuit was settled out of court. The LCSD#7 Board was aware of the situation when it made the decision to hire Carter in 2020.

Local parent Lauren Simms also asked that the Board postpone a decision on whether to renew Carter’s contract.

When it came time for the board to vote on the superintendent evaluation and one-year extension of Carter’s contract, Board Dir. Barry Shullanberger called for discussion. He told those in attendance, “An evaluation that goes on for a superintendent … has nine different topics that are very thorough. It’s very in-depth, very gone through. Mr. Carter has led us through the COVID era where we were the only ones going to school and a lot of other schools weren’t … We have seen his participation in the public as a member of Rotary and constantly on the radio doing updates. Community efforts to communicate about what is happening in our schools is ongoing constantly and I commend him for that.”

Shullanberger said something he believes needs work is the amount of free time students have at the high school level; he said he would like to see less in the future “just because I feel like there’s always something that can be taught.”

He continued, pointing to the hard work he has seen from Carter, and Carter’s position as president of the Oregon Small Schools Association. “He’s constantly being called by people in Salem for advice and for talking points and how to work with Oregon school board associations … he’s going above and beyond what I’ve experienced at the superintendent level. And all the criteria we use to evaluate with, you know, it’s right there at the top.”

Community member Shirley Smith asked how hard it would be to dissolve Carter’s contract if the investigator were to bring forward negative information.

School Board Chair Cori Price responded, “I don’t have the actual answer for that but we’re extending the contract that is already good for several more years, so whether we do a one-year extension today isn’t going to have a bearing, I don’t believe, on if we came back and had to go down a different path.”

“So what’s the rush of doing the one-year extension if it’s not going to be that big of a deal?” Smith asked.

“Well it’s nice to give him the opportunity or at least for the board to relate to him that we appreciate the job that he’s doing and give him the security of that additional year,” Price said.

Shullanberger added that superintendents “have been relieved of their jobs all over the state of Oregon” and said “there’s not that many qualified people out there.” But he added, in response to Smith’s question about dissolving the contract if necessary, “It can be done, is what I’m trying to say.”

The Board voted unanimously to approve the superintendent evaluation with the addition of adding a year to Carter’s contract.

Several parents voiced their frustration on social media following the decision, saying they felt the school board was ignoring their concerns. Local parent Danielle Moss questioned why the superintendent should feel the security of having his contract renewed when there are community members in support of a non-renewal.