The District 55 School Board gave positive marks to Supt. Larry Horton in evaluating his first year with the district.
“In general, the entire Board of Directors expressed a ‘more than satisfied’ evaluation for the year you have been the Sweet Home School District Superintendent,” Don Hopkins said in a memo to Supt. Horton. “Positive strides have been taken, and good personnel working conditions are exhibited throughout the district.
“The board is very pleased with your overall performance. We appreciate your commitment to the superintendent’s position. We greatly appreciate your leadership in setting the tone of negotiations early in the bargaining era (referring to labor negotiations).
“While the board is not dissatisfied, there are some areas which the board would like to see strengthened. We would like to receive by telephone calls or hard mail information of a specific nature prior to the meetings so that we would be better versed on a situation.
“We would like the superintendent or his designee to present progress reports in the curriculum area at the board meetings. The board’s desire is to make progress in the curriculum area and be kept informed through test results, curriculum changes, etc. and done in such a manner that the general public can understand.”
“It’s just that they haven’t been as frequent as we’d like it to be,” Hopkins told The New Era. “A typical board spends its time on economic issues and we’re no different. I’d like to spend more time on curriculum and know where we are in terms of the state and how we compare to others.”
Usually, the board hears about how the district is doing once a year, Hopkins said. The board would like it to be more frequent.
“The board also sees a need to discuss changes, i.e. high school schedule changes, personnel changes and responsibility shifts prior to when they happen,” Hopkins said in the memo.
If there are any of these types of decisions being made, the board wants to know, Hopkins said. A couple of board members were asked about rumored changes while shopping at Safeway and Thriftway.
“I think Larry’s kept us well-informed,” Hopkins said. “We just want to point out the fact, if he is making changes we would like to know about them before it becomes public.”
“Your genuine honesty, integrity, commitment to the position and hard work are greatly appreciated by all of us; and our desire, as a board, is to know how we can be of a greater assistance, support, to you in the future,” Hopkins said in the memo.
As far as specific improvements the board would like to see, Hopkins said, “there just weren’t any. I think overall the board was very pleased with what he’s done so far.
“I think his communication skills are excellent. He puts in the time necessary to deal with issues, and I’ve found him there on weekends. Issues of integrity are very good. I think when it comes to negotiating with certified and classified, there’s a high degree of integrity that makes negotiations much simpler.
“He has a commitment of time to make the job effective, and decisions are made around what’s best for kids, which is the same philosophy the board has.”