District still grappling over fate of Jenkins

Tension was almost palpable in the Helena Flats School Library on Wednesday night.

A crowd of about 30 people packed the small room to speak on behalf of Superintendent Paul Jenkins, whose contract the board of trustees recently voted not to renew.

The only items on the agenda at Wednesday's special board meeting were whether trustees should hire an attorney and whether Jenkins should be suspended.

Board chairman Erik Wenum said the school board recently had received a letter accusing Jenkins of "inappropriate conduct."

Wenum did not elaborate on the accusation. He made a motion to retain an attorney from the Montana School Boards Association, which the trustees unanimously agreed to do.

Wenum then made a second motion: to suspend Jenkins immediately, with pay, while the alleged incident was under investigation.

That motion elicited an outraged response from audience members, many of whom had spent the previous hour praising Jenkins' 20 years as Helena Flats superintendent and pleading with trustees to reverse - or at least explain - their decision not to renew his contract.

Jenkins did not speak during Wednesday's meeting, but when Wenum moved to suspend him, Jenkins' attorney, Sean Frampton, addressed the board. He said he and Jenkins had not been told what the alleged incident was.

Jenkins had an idea what the letter might be referring to, Frampton said, but the incident he had in mind occurred six months ago. Since then, Jenkins has had constant contact with the child involved, and the child's safety never had been questioned, he said.

Frampton said he had spoken with the board's attorney and that it was his understanding that Jenkins could only be suspended if there were a question of the alleged victim's safety.

Because of the allegations, the board's attorney had advised trustees that suspending Jenkins - to separate him from the child - was necessary, Wenum said. He offered to call the board's attorney, who was home with a sick child.

The meeting recessed while the trustees, Jenkins and Frampton spoke with the attorney. The meeting reconvened 40 minutes later.

"We have been advised by our counsel to proceed with the motion" to suspend Jenkins immediately, Wenum said. "But I have made the decision to go against the recommendation of our council. I withdraw the motion from the floor."

Several people in the audience applauded and thanked the board. The meeting adjourned seconds later.

The decision not to renew Jenkins' contract still stands.

At the board's regular meeting in February, trustees said Jenkins' dismissal was at least partially the result of three consecutive subpar superintendent's evaluations. Jenkins rated "below satisfactory" in each of the evaluation's seven categories, Wenum said in February.

School librarian Diane Taylor asked the board on Wednesday what the seven categories are. If Jenkins' rapport with staff, students and the community wasn't included in the evaluation, then it was flawed, she said.

Wenum did not have a copy of the evaluation with him but said leadership, quality of education and the district's finances were broad areas considered in the assessment.

The decision not to renew Jenkins' contract stunned many in the Helena Flats community and the school. A large crowd attended the February meeting, asking the board to reverse its decision and questioning the reasons for it. Those questions continued Wednesday, along with more than one threat to remove the trustees from the board.

Wenum told the crowd more than once that because Jenkins' dismissal was a personnel issue, the board could not provide the details that the audience was asking for. He did promise to answer what questions the board could legally respond to at the next regular meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 10.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com