Spanish teacher Jayson Thomas, who submitted his resignation at Silverton  School last month amid criticism of Superintendent Kim White and the school board, has raised a number of grievances and complaints.
White said complaints have been raised to the Colorado Department of Education, and to federal civil rights officials.
Issues raised by Thomas include inadequate services for special education students, improper administration of state standardized tests and the school district failing to follow its own policies.
Board President George Foster said Tuesday that school officials have been advised by legal counsel to avoid open discussion on the matters at this time.
“Jayson’s my friend, but I can’t act or react to anything that’s said,” Foster said, until the potential legal issues are resolved.
Superintendent White said Wednesday that the district is “working with various departments and agencies as appropriate to provide information and resolve the issues. The school board is monitoring the whole process.”
Thomas told the school board Tuesday that he has about a dozen specific “grievances” with school administrators and the board. He addressed three of them.
He said state rules requiring teachers to be observed and evaluated have not been followed.
“I have been here for two years teaching at this school, and have had only one evaluation from Ms. White,” Thomas said. “I have not been observed for more than 10 minutes by Ms. White, although she did come up with a good evaluation.”
Thomas said the school’s handbook was a “waste of paper” since it is so commonly ignored.
“You’re being negligent if you don’t follow the policies you set,” Thomas said.
He said student discipline problems have not been handled according to policy.
And he said services for special needs students are inadequate.
“We need to keep the high-needs kids in the classroom,” Thomas said.
Thomas said he doesn’t consider White incompetent, but suggested it may be too much for her to serve as both superintendent and principal of the small school.
“We need a principal who can handle the workload,” Thomas said. “And we need it now, not in two to five years.”
White said the school is not turning a deaf ear to those concerns.
“On a sctrurual and organizational level we do want to address these concerns because we work real hard to meet the need of all students,” White said.
The school board, prior to Thomas’ presentation Tuesday, authorized White to enter into a contract with a consultant, Portscheller & Associates of Parachute, Colo., to take an independent look at issues facing the school.
The contract is expected to cost $6,000 to $8,000.
“Even before these complaints had come up I had mentioned her,” White said. She said Peg Portscheller could be in town as early as next month to meet with teachers and staff.