As usual in these sorts of situations, a lot of details are murky about last week’s sudden departure of Mike Merlino as superintendent of Evergreen Public Schools. But one thing is clear: the school board made the right decision to show him the door.
Merlino’s tenure in the top job was brief and rocky. He was appointed in April 2019 to replace John Steach, who had resigned abruptly. The circumstances were never fully explained due to a legal agreement between the parties, but somehow Steach collected a $300,000 payout.
The school board then turned to Merlino, who at the time was the district’s chief financial officer. Although Merlino had never been a teacher, he had worked for Evergreen for almost 20 years. “We’ve had a lot of unsettled situations, so we want stability,” explained Victoria Bradford, who was the vice president of the school board. “That’s weighing heavy on our minds.”
But they didn’t get it. By last spring the board had asked the Washington Association of School Administrators to investigate dysfunction and mistrust in the administrative offices. The association’s May 28 report found a “chilling effect on climate and culture” from a “lack of systemic trust” and recommended a host of changes, including professional development for Merlino, who was also to enroll in a superintendent’s certification program.
Merlino agreed and promised to relinquish his CFO role next year. In return, in July the board raised his pay by more than $10,000 annually.
If the...
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