Moses Lake School Board OKs contract extension

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School Board voted Thursday to extend Superintendent Josh Meek’s contract for one year, through the end of the 2022 school year.

“I’d like to state the board’s appreciation for Josh and all the work he has done and will continue to do,” said board President Elliott Goodrich during a regular meeting Thursday night.

Under the terms of the contract, which was set to expire on July 1, 2021, Meek is paid $198,993 per year plus performance pay of as much as $25,000 for the 2019-2020 school year.

As of press time, the extended contract was not available for review.

In the previous contract, the superintendent’s performance pay is based on a formula derived from goals set by both the board and the superintendent at the start of the school year. Any bonus must be approved by the school board the following July.

However, newly elected board member Bryce McPartland did not vote for extension, saying he could not vote “for the contract as written.”

In an email to the Columbia Basin Herald after the meeting, McPartland said that his “no” vote was not “against Dr. Meek or his performance.”

“I voted against the contract,” McPartland explained. “The contract ought to be transparent, so that people could understand exactly what was being incentivized.”

“We incentivize our priorities. I felt the contract should explicitly reflect what has been prioritized by district leadership, either within the body of the contract or in an addendum,” he wrote.

Board members also outlined the things they would like to bring to the legislature during the current session, which started two weeks ago.

Board members agreed that more local control over spending and discipline were important, as well as a reduction of the number of things the state mandates schools do but doesn’t pay for.

In particular, Goodrich said he would like to see the legislature impose a statewide salary schedule for teachers and administrators, saying that while the state did give more money to the schools with the McCleary Fix several years ago, it abolished the statewide salary schedule for teachers, and some districts significantly raised teacher pay without providing enough for teacher benefits.

“If they require that we do it, they should pay for it,” Goodrich said.

However, Goodrich also said the matter is not merely one of more money, and he does not want to see the local property levy caps imposed under the McCleary Fix removed.

As part of the legislative fix to ensure more funding for schools statewide, the legislature raised the statewide property tax levy for schools and imposed a second levy as well. In return, the state initially capped local levies at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, though the cap has been raised to $2.50 and there is talk of abolishing it completely.

“I’m opposed to the elimination of levy caps,” Goodrich said. “We got a bunch more money, raised everyone’s salaries, and we need to be accountable for the choices we make. It doesn’t always mean taking more from citizens.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.