Superintendent Contract – A Citizen’s Take

Newberg School Board, and Dr. Phillips,                                               1/16/24           

While not able to attend, I have listened to the recording of the Jan. 9^th Board meeting, and particularly the extensive discussion of Dr. Phillips’ contract and the Feb. 15^th deadline to trigger/not trigger automatic rollover of the contract for a fourth year. I appreciate the seriousness and thoughtfulness in which all of the board members entered this discussion, both long-term members and new members to the Board. 

I would like to offer my thoughts on the situation, as a resident of Newberg and a parent of NSD alums. 

In an ideal world, all parties (employer and employee) enter into contracts in which everyone is thrilled with all details, and those contracts play out in environments that never call into question any element of the contract, or the working relationship from which the contract arose. As we know, in very few working contexts are all, or even most of these ideals met.

There are a few factors at play before discussing the 3 year rolling nature of the contract, the Feb. 15^th deadline to amend/abridge and what doing so would or would not signify about Dr. Phillips’ future in the District. Among them are:

·      This 3 year contract was entered into after a relatively brief time on the job on Dr. Phillips’ part, and without public evidence of a robust performance evaluation by the previous Board. 

·      The contract was entered into with no public Board discussion, no public input, and, potentially, no or limited vetting by District legal counsel. 

·      In the less than a year that the new Board has been in place, no robust performance review of Dr. Phillips has been done. 

·      Indications are that this contract, both in its base salary and built in perks, is significantly more generous than those contracts of both previous Newberg Superintendents, and current Superintendents in comparable (3up/3down, to use Director Bridges’ term) Districts. 

·      As noted by the legal counsel, the nature of the 3 year rolling contract as written makes it very easy to continue indefinitely, and very challenging to amend or terminate. 

In listening, and watching the recording of the 1/9 meeting there seems to have been quite a bit of discussion and consternation around the term “terminating the contract.” I feel this clouded the issue. If, at the Feb. 13^th Board Meeting the Board votes to “Terminate the CONTRACT” it is doing JUST that, terminating the automatic renewal of THIS contract AS IS two years from now. 

It is NOT terminating, or SIGNALING the PENDING, or even LIKELY future termination of Dr. Phillips. 

I recognize that, emotionally, it is less favorable for Dr. Phillips to be working under a contract that he knows will not last indefinitely, and he’ll need to renegotiate over the next two years, but this is a situation that employees face in all sorts of jobs (from teachers having contracts renegotiated to professional athletes being asked to renegotiate contracts that their teams no longer feel are favorable). 

Dr. Phillips then has a CHOICE. HE can decide if he likes working in Newberg, feels that his performance is likely to lead to a newly negotiated contract that will enable him to remain in Newberg OR he could decide to seek comparable compensation and employment in a new District. By not agreeing to roll the contract, as is, over for a 4^th year, the Board is NOT FORCING HIM OUT, or even gently nudging him out. He is an adult professional, able to make decisions that he feels are best for himself and his family. 

In the hiring process that resulted in Dr. Phillips’ hiring, at least one imminently qualified candidate was passed over. Were Dr. Phillips to choose to leave, NSD would have other qualified candidates to choose from. 

Were Dr. Phillips decide to stay, and performance evaluations, District enrollments and finances and community support for him suggest he should be retained two years from now, he is absolutely free to enter into a new contract and remain here as long as all parties are satisfied with the conditions of his employment. 

I do NOT feel the contract should be automatically rolled over on the 15^th because failure to do so might hurt Dr. Phillips feelings. 

I believe it is a bad contract for the District. It is out of line with our history, with comparable contracts in neighboring communities, and is likely to complicate negotiations with the teacher’s union who are almost certainly not going to be offered anything proportionately similar (in salary or perks). I believe the only responsible thing for the Board to do is to terminate this contract (in 2 years, as is the earliest possible date) and return the Superintendent’s contract to one more proportionately appropriate. 

My sense of this says NOTHING about whether or not Dr. Phillips should be the long-term Superintendent of Newberg Schools. Only annual and substantive performance reviews, and the future enrollment/academic/financial performance of the District can speak to that. I trust Dr. Phillips’ ability as an adult professional to understand the difference between rejecting an unwise contract, and the rejection of him personally. I hope the Board will not conflate the two.

Dr. Steve Sherwood

Newberg Resident