School board gives Maki barely passing grade
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
January 21, 2009
Kirby Maki looks to be headed for another year as Libby School District’s superintendent – barely – after receiving lukewarm marks from the school board during an unusual public evaluation session last week.
The board’s annual evaluation of the superintendent is generally conducted in a closed session. This year, however, the evaluation was open to the public at Maki’s request.
"I don’t think I’ve ever sat in on an open evaluation of a superintendent before, and I guarantee you that nobody in this room, including me, would want to be in that seat right now," said veteran school board member Lee Disney.
The board rated Maki on a scale of 1 through 5 in four main areas, each with subcategories. A rating of 1 indicates "Performance does not meet job requirements" while a 5 means "Performance far exceeds job requirements." A 3 indicates performance that is "satisfactory." Maki’s ratings – averaged among the seven board members by chair Jerry Frament – ranged from a low of 2.59 in the area of the superintendent’s relationship with the board to a high of 3.02 for management skills and abilities.
Discussing Maki’s relationship with the board, board member Tracy Comeau said she finds Maki likeable and "very knowledgeable," but that she sometimes feels manipulated because he doesn’t share enough information with the board.
"Sometimes I think there are paths that Mr. Maki would like to go in, and there’s not a lot of other options open to us," she said.
Discussing Maki’s management skills, board member Gela Koehler said she thinks Maki sometimes withholds information, such as "escalating costs at the Memorial Center."
Koehler said she thinks money spent on using the Memorial Center for school activities would have been better used to hire staff to help teach reading and math.
"We do have a gym at every school," she said. "We do not have to do that. It’s not a necessity."
On the subject of Maki’s relationship with staff, Koehler said the fact that staff members have been coming to board meetings to voice complaints is indicative of a problem.
"I didn’t see anybody here the first two years I was on the board," she said. "It’s just been this last year."
Board member Tony Rebo suggested part of the problem could be the board’s tendency for "micro-managing." When staff members don’t get the response they want from an administrator, they take their issues to the board, he said.
"The easier that avenue is to take, the more people are going to show up here," he said.
Disney said he thinks it’s healthy for the board to hear from staff.
"It gives us information," he said. "Otherwise we just come in here once a month, stamp it and go home."
Regarding Maki’s performance in the area of public relations, board member Paula Darko-Hensler said she doesn’t think the superintendent has been sufficiently proactive in preparing the community for a mill levy that she thinks will be necessary in the near future.
"I just don’t think that the coalition building with the community has happened, and I think the superintendent is supposed to be the leader in that," she said.
The evaluation also included a discussion of "professional and personal attributes," including what impressed board members the most about the superintendent’s performance during the last year and what areas show needs for improvement.
Comeau said she was impressed by Maki’s handling of asbestos issues and by his approachability. Darko-Hensler noted Maki’s "kindness."
"He does care deeply about his kids," she said.
Frament lauded Maki’s skill in managing the district’s budget and his concern for employees.
"I still think he is a great supporter of the staff," he said.
Under needs for improvement, Comeau said Maki failed to follow up on some things, such as questions regarding the sale of the old school building at the corner of Mineral Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard, after having been given direction by the board. Frament agreed that Maki’s follow-through has sometimes been lacking.
At the conclusion of the evaluation, Disney moved to recommend that the board offer a one-year contract to Maki. The motion was seconded by Rebo and passed 4-3, with Disney, Rebo, Frament and Bruce Sickler voting in favor and Comeau, Koehler and Darko-Hensler voting against. The board will make its final decision on whether or not to hire Maki for another year at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Jan.
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Editor’s Note: See the January 20, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, now on Tuesday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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