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E-mail StoryEdison district finds interim leader
School board struggles with two administrative resignations in week
| Thursday, Jan 17 2008 10:20 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Jan 17 2008 10:35 PM
The Edison Elementary School District board unanimously approved a contract with Kern County Superintendent of Schools to provide an interim district superintendent and interim principal for Orangewood Elementary following two administration resignations in the same week.
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The board announced that Orangewood Principal Mark Holmes resigned Tuesday following an investigation into a discrimination claim brought against him by another employee, said board president Allison Kitchen.
With the superintendent's job, Danny Whetton, a school support coordinator for KCSOS curriculum instruction and accountability, will lead the 1,100-student Edison district and elementary school until June 30 at no cost to Edison. Whetton was the superintendent for neighboring Di Giorgio School District and has 15 years' experience as a principal, he told the board at a special meeting Thursday.
Superintendent Cheri Sanders resigned Monday and will be paid through the end of her contract on June 30. By that time she'll have received about $80,000 while others did her work.
She was on the job for about 15 months before being placed on paid administrative leave in November. An investigation found she mishandled district funds.
While a review of credit card statements found several instances of poor judgement, the five-member board did not fire Sanders.
It's not that the board didn't have cause, Kitchen said, but the process could have cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars. And Sanders' contract included a clause that required the district to pay her through the end of her two-year stint with the district.
"Too much money has been pouring out of this district," Kitchen said. She did not know the cost of the two investigations.
Sanders' salary is estimated at about $9,000 a month and benefits of about $1,000 a month, said Mike Butcher, who took over the district when Sanders was placed on leave.
Sanders charged nearly $16,000 in supplies, travel and alcohol with a district credit card between July and November, according to findings from an inquiry that began last fall.
The review showed Sanders used the district credit card to pay for alcohol, personal purchases for which she did reimburse the district and keeping cash she received from another employee for a personal purchase.
Whetton was hopeful that Edison can "turn the page" and bring the focus back to educational issues.
Edison is in its second year of Program Improvement, a state oversight program for districts that aren't making enough progress toward the No Child Left Behind goal of every child being proficient in math and reading by 2014. One more year in PI could mean sanctions from the state.
In the meantime, Edison will work to be more transparent, Whetton said, so the community knows how the money is being spent. And it will work with the California School Board Association to see whether changes should be made.
Sanders, while making mistakes, also brought positive changes to Edison, Whetton said. She implemented benchmark and intervention programs to track and help struggling students.
Edison will begin its search in February or March with hopes of having a permanent replacement in the spring, Kitchen said.