One of the concerns that the Tahoma School District (TSD) community has raised for years now is the perception of a “Good Ole’ Boys’ Club” at work here. This was reiterated by board members Haley Pendergraft and Malia Hollowell in a statement they made following their resignations from the TSD school board. We decided to take a deeper dive into this, and share some of our findings below. So far we’ve only had time to source info on a few folks, so we focused on those at the center of the news regarding the Bryan Neyers case. We did our best to keep this factual and accurate. We know there are many rumors flying, so if you have info you would like to share with us (preferably with sources to back it up), please contact us!

Chris Thomas, Mike Hanson, and Tony Davis

When Chris Thomas was hired as principal of Glacier Park Elementary School (GPES) in 2010, he told the Covington Reporter “I have friends who are in the (Tahoma School District) as teachers and administrators. I keep up with the district and I knew that this position was open.” One of those friends is TSD’s outgoing superintendent, Mike Hanson. Thomas and Hanson are both TSD graduates and played sports together while at Tahoma High School (THS). Hanson began as a teacher at TSD in 1999, and has held multiple positions in the district including Dean of Students at THS, vice principal at GPES, and principal at Shadow Lake Elementary School (SLES), before moving to the superintendent’s office in 2021. Thomas also coached football at Tahoma High School with TSD’s current Equity Director, Tony Davis (also a TSD alumni), who has previously been involved in questionable actions when he used district letterhead to support a coach who was accused and later convicted of two counts of first-degree child molestation.

Ongoing Concerns

Tahoma School District is well-known within the Maple Valley Community for hiring from within the district with many of those hires being former students. While it is healthy for schools and other businesses to hire from within, our district has been plagued with problems from a paraeducator and coach abusing students, district leaders supporting those employees, and now a $3.9 million settlement in which the district admitted negligence in reporting sexual abuse of a student by paraeducator Bryan Neyers. The district is being asked by many in the community to change their hiring practices.

Time to End the Good Ole Boys Club

While there may be some benefits to hiring from within an organization – roles may be able to be filled internally more quickly and efficiently – perpetuating the good ole boys club comes at a huge cost:

• As the name suggests, good ole boy clubs are primarily male and in practice, primarily white. Historically and by their very nature, good ole boy clubs discourage diversity, inclusivity, and other values we support.
• Good ole boy networks are supportive and protective of members of the network, making it difficult to enforce accountability.

Superintendent Replacement

Considering historic issues and the ongoing concerns described above, it is time that Tahoma School District look outside of our boundaries to hire a new superintendent and other replacements in leadership positions. Recruitment for the superintendent position should be nationwide with an emphasis on candidate diversity, and it should begin now, as that position will be vacant at the end of the academic year (if not sooner).

Research shows that in order to succeed in the current economy, investing into human capital such as creating a positive work environment, competitive compensation, and having specific strategies to hire people with diverse backgrounds as well as provide support to them once hired is necessary. Findings from a 2016 survey show that many public school districts are not keeping up with best practices and human capital innovations that other fields participate in to recruit and retain high caliber employees. This survey was compiled of 200 public school districts across the nation and showed that most school districts do not look nationwide for applications but mostly are hyper-local. While most job recruiters (96%) report using social media as a recruitment tool, less than ⅓ of school districts utilize social media to extend their reach of applicants.

Additional issues include salaries being less than other college-educated professionals, and lack of diversity. According to openpayroll.com from 2022, the Tahoma School District superintendent position paid almost 20% less than the Kent School District, 33% less than the Renton School District, and nearly 40% less than Issaquah School District. Arguably, the Kent School District has been plagued with their own lack of trust in leadership. However, if Tahoma cannot pay wages comparable to other school districts in the area, how will the district attract the quality of talent necessary to help get TSD out of the mess it is in right now?

We have wasted much time and effort in trying to speed up the hiring process and reduce costs when hiring in TSD which has resulted in the ultimate price of children being harmed. Moving forward and starting with the superintendent position, Tahoma School District needs to:

• • Devote more time and money to the recruitment and hiring process
  • Advertise job openings outside of TSD boundaries, preferably using a recruitment firm
  • Provide compensation that is comparable to the area and to professions that require the same level of education
  • Prioritize diversity and create strategies to attract and retain a diverse staff throughout the district

It is time for the people in charge of hiring in Tahoma School District to listen not only to their own community members, parents, and students, but also research that shows that we need to do much better to provide the best possible outcome for our students, including protecting our children while they are in the care of our schools. Demand that the school board do a thorough, nation-wide search for diverse candidates to fill the upcoming vacant superintendent position. Additionally, we need more diversity not only in our administration but also school staff and teachers. Click here to see the list of ways you can demand change in our school district.

This article was written by a member of the Tahoma Values team, but we are always looking for people to write articles for us! If there’s something you’d like to publish with us, send your submission to tahomavalues@gmail.com

Editor’s note: 09/20/2023- minor edits made for grammatical errors.