Moses Lake superintendent placed on admin leave
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
Moses Lake School District Superintendent Monty Sabin has been placed on administrative leave.
FILE PHOTO
Moses Lake School District Assistant Superintendent Carol Lewis was named acting superintendent at a special meeting of the Moses Lake School Board Tuesday.
From left: Moses Lake School Board Member Amy Brieitenstein, Member Carla Urias, President Kirryn Jensen and Member Paul Hill voted unanimously at a special meeting Tuesday to place Superintendent Monty Sabin on administrative leave.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | May 14, 2024 8:11 PM
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School Board voted in a special meeting Tuesday to place Superintendent Monty Sabin on administrative leave. Assistant Superintendent Carol Lewis was named acting superintendent at the same meeting.
The decision was made at a special meeting attended by about 20 community members. The meeting was open to the public, but following the Pledge of Allegiance the board members immediately went into an executive session, which lasted 30 minutes. The vote took place upon their return to the public meeting.
Voting were Board President Kirryn Jensen and Board Members Paul Hill, Amy Breitenstein and Carla Urias. Board member Kevin Fuhr was not present.
Sabin was also absent as was Chief Operations Officer Jeremy O’Neill.
Lewis, Executive Director of Secondary Education Triscia Hochstatter and Executive Director of Elementary Education Roberta Mason were in attendance.
Sabin was hired in March 2022 with a three-year contract, which went into effect July 1 of that year, at a salary of $255,000 per year. That contract was extended in January 2023 to run through August 2026. Under the terms of the contract, if he is let go without cause, the district is obligated to pay him either 18 months’ salary or the balance of his salary for the remaining time.
All four board members declined to comment on the vote, which was unanimous among the members in attendance.
The board’s move comes amid controversy over district finances, including the failure of the Educational Programs & Operations Levy and an $11 million accounting error. The accounting error was detected May 2, according to information from the district, but it was not immediately clear when the errors actually occurred. As a result of the district’s financial difficulties, the board voted in a special meeting Saturday not to renew the contracts of about 100 teachers. Additional layoffs and program cuts are expected.
Northwest Leadership Associates was paid $17,800 plus expenses to help MLSD identify candidates in 2022. Sabin was hired after that search.
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
Moses Lake School District Assistant Superintendent Carol Lewis was named acting superintendent at a special meeting of the Moses Lake School Board Tuesday.
From left: Moses Lake School Board Member Amy Brieitenstein, Member Carla Urias, President Kirryn Jensen and Member Paul Hill voted unanimously at a special meeting Tuesday to place Superintendent Monty Sabin on administrative leave.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”