McGeeney resigns, Lewis approved as acting superintendent

The board of directors made the unanimous decision to accept McGeeney’s tentative resignation agreement with the district following an executive session of the board Thursday, April 6. Following that decision, they voted unanimously to accept Lewis’ volunteer services starting April 7.

Lewis also works as superintendent part-time at Trout Lake School District.

In a public letter released Monday morning, Lewis said he is grateful for the school board allowing him to volunteer his time to help the district.

“I have always viewed our district as a family of staff, no matter the position, working together for the success of our students,” Lewis said.

He said in the letter that meetings are scheduled with Educational Service District 112 to develop budget projections, and will work with the school board, administration team, and unions to develop a plan “as quickly as possible.

“The goal is to save as many jobs as possible in order to maintain a high quality of education for our students. I want the process and plan to be transparent and handled with sensitivity and compassion because the outcomes will affect lives of our staff, students, and district community,” he said.

Discussions were sparse following the executive session. Board Member Peter Harkema thanked Lewis following the vote to approve him as the district’s interim leader.

“I’d just like to say thanks to Dr. Lewis, for his willingness to step forward in our time of need, so to speak. We are incredibly grateful to him for his experience and his generosity in stepping forward to support the district, our leadership in the team and the board in this moment,” Harkema said.

The vote to accept McGeeney’s resignation comes amid a budgetary crisis for the district, which saw the district’s reserve funds of around $2.6 million depleted in two years under McGeeney’s leadership.

“We want to reassure families that this will be a seamless transition for your students and that there will be no disruptions to their learning experience,” district officials said in a communication to parents and staff. “Questions and concerns are welcomed, although there may be details that we legally cannot share at this time. Please continue to monitor the district’s many communication tools.”

White Salmon Education Association voted “No Confidence” in McGeeney’s leadership in a union-wide vote last Thursday. Education Association President Peter Knowles said in an interview last week that McGeeney’s departure from the district would be “the first step to stop making things worse.” 

“We need to make sure that the next steps are the best steps long term, to honor the employees that we currently have and maintain staff levels, because that is what makes our schools strong,” Knowles said.

Board Chair Alan Reitz said in an email that a buyout of McGeeney’s contract, which had authorized an annual salary of $179,025 through June 30, 2025, is “not part of the tentative agreement that is still being finalized.”

Reitz added, “The board feels the resignation agreement is the best course to chart for the district to allow us to focus on the challenge of developing a 2023-24 budget and staffing plan.”

The board of directors still has financial considerations to agree upon, including how to overcome a budget deficit of more than $3 million. District officials previously agreed to come to a final decision towards the end of April or early May.