Dale Lumley

BUTLER TWP — Butler School Board members met Monday night to discuss Superintendent-designate Dale Lumley's role in reviewing and interviewing administrative applicants before Lumley is a district employee.

The school board administrative search committee planned to hire a superintendent first so that person could be involved in hiring an assistant superintendent and a business manager. However, his responsibilities were never formalized.

Since being appointed last month, Lumley has reviewed résumés and held preliminary interviews with job candidates for the assistant superintendent and business manager positions.

This concerned board member Bill Halle because board members were not invited to join the process and because Lumley, who is the superintendent at the South Butler School District, is not yet a Butler employee.

Halle contacted school solicitor Thomas King for a legal opinion.

“There really is no right or wrong legal response,” King said.

But no matter which process is chosen, “the board needed to say that it was OK,” King said.

So board members can either be involved throughout or at the end of the hiring process.

“I think it's really a matter of trusting the person we chose as superintendent,” said Michael Strutt, the current superintendent.

Lumley said he planned on bringing final candidates to the board to interview. But so far only Cathy Rodgers, business manager, and Carolyn Cornish and Brian Slamecka, assistant superintendents, were allowed to sit in on interviews.

Lumley admitted that having board members involved in the preliminary hiring process can be “disruptive” and “chaotic” if he doesn't know which members are showing up ahead of time and what kinds of questions they might ask.

The same questions need to be asked of each candidate to maintain a manner of equity, he said.

The board in a 7-2 vote gave Lumley special clearances during his transitional period, which includes access to confidential files and a school district e-mail address.

Halle and Jim Keffalas voted against the measure.

The interview process will continue as is, giving board members the opportunity to be involved with the final candidates.

“We just set a very dangerous precedent by having school directors barred from participating in a process they believe is an important part of their responsibility, and one in which we have participated in the past,” Halle said.

Meanwhile, other school board members thanked Lumley for voluntarily doing the work without compensation. Board President Don Pringle said he is thankful for Lumley to “separate the wheat from the chaff.”

After the vote, Lumley said he was glad the issue was addressed.

“It's more than the interviews,” he said. “It's about the whole transition plan.”

Strutt, Rodgers and Cornish will retire June 30.