A federal mediator from New York was recently in Vermont, interviewing dozens of stakeholders about the management performance of David Adams, the superintendent of the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union.
Addison Northeast Supervisory Union Superintendent David Adams. Courtesy photo
Cynthia Jeffries of the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service is conducting an assessment, on-site visits and confidential interviews and discussions with administrators, principals, teachers, staff leaders and board members.
The supervisory union executive committee brought in a federal mediator in April after the Addison Northeast Education Association, a chapter of the Vermont NEA, registered a vote of no confidence over Adams’ performance in a 163-1 vote. A report with recommendations will be presented to the ANESU executive committee in September. Addison Northeast Supervisory Union (ANESU) serves the communities of Bristol, Lincoln, Starksboro, New Haven and Monkton.
The union has touted the results of a climate survey from March that gave Adams failing marks in many areas. An overwhelming majority of survey respondents concluded Adams did not have adequate interpersonal skills, didn’t provide a vision for the supervisory union district, wasn’t collaborative enough, didn’t foster a safe and effective learning environment, and was not professional in his dealings with school personnel.
The survey was completed by more than 250 staff and faculty, or about 70 percent of the employees in the school districts served by the supervisory union.
An online citizens’ petition calling for the superintendent’s removal, which generated 205 signatures, was also submitted to the supervisory union executive committee this spring.
Adams said he’s proud of his work for the supervisory union and has not indicated he will step down. “I do believe that I’ve made some very positive contributions to our system, and I’m certainly open to any type of feedback that’s constructive in my performance,” he said.
The supervisory union is in the middle of negotiating a new contract with teachers. Adams told the Burlington Free Press in April that he wants to put the district on a sustainable spending path.
“We are conducting contract negotiations here, and that’s why I’m not going to comment generally here,” Adams said in an interview with VTDigger. “There is some context here, and I don’t want in any way to jeopardize that, but these things did in fact happen simultaneously.”
Mikaela Frank, the president of the Addison Northeast Education Association, said the vote of no confidence “had nothing to do with negotiations.”
“The vote of no confidence has to do with the fact that David Adams is no longer the right fit [for ANESU],” Frank said.
The union distributed the school climate survey this winter because of “rumblings” across the ANESU school districts, Frank said. The union wanted to see if “there were some real issues going on.”
“The survey results were more than beyond the shadow of a doubt that the climate has declined and then based on that, we took the vote of no confidence,” Frank said.
Adams began his fourth year as superintendent on July 1, and his contract runs through June 30, 2016. He says the events in March were driven by “a social media campaign” that claimed he was “not a good fit for the community.”
An online petition calling for the board to replace Adams drew signatures and posts complaining about the superintendent, posted by a group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Addison Northeast Supervisory Union.
An email sent to the site was not responded to this week.
Adams said he asked to see the results of the climate survey before the March meeting, and did not receive a response.
“On two different occasions, I asked to see the results and to see what any concerns might have been,” said Adams. “No one spoke to me, and no members of the community have come forward about me.
“It’s a difficult period for the district, but there are very well-meaning people who want the best for our kids, as I certainly do,” he said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Addison Northeast superintendent fights efforts to oust him.