Will Sarvis' Contract be Extended?

Anissa McNeil -- who has been described as having a "breathtaking lack of sensitivity" -- has given her notice as Special Education Director with the Santa Barbara School District. It happened after a contentious board meeting where School Board Trustee Bob Noel and Superintendent Brian Sarvis talked over each other, many parents complained and McNeil presented what Noel called an "infomercial" in her defense. Read all about the meeting from Rob Kuznia's well-written article at Noozhawk.

In the article's comments area -- the comments went generally as follows:

The damage that Anissa McNeil did to this district cannot be overestimated. The damage will not be repaired for years. I’ve been a special ed teacher for over 15 years, and I’ve never seen anyone like her; she was simultaneously imperious and incompetent. She would make proclamations about new programs, then not show up to the meeting where the new program was to be discussed. She would change say one thing to one employee, then another to another, to the point that we could never tell what was a fact and what was a lie. She would intimidate anyone who dared challenge her by approaching the person alone and without witnesses around.

One comment at Noozhawk even mentioned recall of current board members due to what they termed mismanagement by the district. Last night the school board reviewed Sarvis' contract and although running a school district is much more complicated than its special education department -- a high turnover and parent concerns will likely be a key area for improvement should Sarvis' contract be extended. Other issues might include a poor relationship with teaching staff and questions about how district funds are managed. I don't envy the two new board members who will starting soon -- there's a lot of work to do.