Larry Nyland: Hoping to build trust, new schools

Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

Education
Superintendent hoping to build trust, new schools

By Lynn Thompson
Times Snohomish County Bureau

BETTY UDESEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES At Marysville-Pilchuck High School, students attend classes in some of the 113 portables the district is using due to overcrowding.

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Larry Nyland expected to spend his first year at the helm of the Marysville School District trying to build trust and relationships in a district recovering from a seven-week teachers strike, the dismissal of its superintendent and an ongoing effort to recall School Board members.

As if that weren't a tall-enough order, the new superintendent has added to his agenda the possibility of placing before voters a construction bond that would help relieve overcrowded schools.

"I came here thinking we were a year away [from a bond measure], but it strikes me and a fair number of community members that we can't wait. We need to go forward," Nyland said.

An exploratory committee that includes city business and political leaders is expected to make recommendations to the School Board in the coming weeks about placing a measure before voters, perhaps in May, for a second high school and one or two new elementary schools.

But some of those community leaders also are warning that the district should open negotiations with the teachers union and secure a long-term agreement before the current two-year contract expires Aug. 31, 2005.

	"We need to go forward" with plans for a construction bond, says Superintendent Larry Nyland.

"If the district wants added community support, it needs to get a contract in place prior to April with all its unions," said Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall, who serves on the committee looking into the feasibility of a construction bond.

Steve Muller, a Marysville businessman and past chairman of several levy committees, agreed that a contract between teachers and the new administration is crucial to building community support for the district.

"If the community knew we were fixed for another three years, that would go a long ways toward moving us forward," he said.

Marysville voters in May 2003 narrowly defeated a $59.3 million bond measure to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, one of the state's largest with an enrollment this fall of 2,231.

The district is so short of classroom space that it uses 113 portables.

The May 2003 bond measure was a drastically reduced version of a two-bond package totaling $136.6 million that failed by a wide margin the previous February and would have built new middle and elementary schools in addition to the new high school.

Muller, who's on the district's exploratory committee, blamed the poor showing in part on the economy and the lingering regional effects of Boeing layoffs.

But with the 49-day teachers strike further dividing the community, Muller said, the public needs to know that the teachers are willing to work with the district to resolve problems.

"We want to do right by the teachers, but there are things we need to hear from them," he said.

Nyland isn't ruling out an early resolution to the labor negotiations, which typically are settled by June. He said he's meeting monthly with the Marysville Education Association but noted that it's "difficult for either side to promise resolution in advance."

The new president of the teachers union, Arden Watson, said she thinks the community will support a bond this school year even if the contract isn't finalized.

"The teachers are very excited about the new year. They're embracing Dr. Nyland. Parents are going to know where the teachers are at," she said.

Nyland took over in July, with the strike-delayed school year still in session. He made a point of visiting buildings and classrooms and also moved to the district, something former Superintendent Linda Whitehead was faulted for not doing.

He inherited a 2004-05 budget that had been cut $1.5 million by eliminating 51 teaching positions and some district staff.

The district's finances have been helped by an uptick in enrollment. The first week of school, 10,650 students registered, three more than a year ago.

Michael Kundu, one of three School Board members elected in the wake of the teacher walkout, said the hiring of a new superintendent, the new majority on the board and the recognition in the community of the teachers' long-standing grievances have "completely reversed the education atmosphere in Marysville."

One unresolved issue is a recall effort of Helen Mount and Ron Young, board members who'd supported Whitehead. The legality of that effort is pending before the state Supreme Court.

The most visible sign of that reversal may have come at Nyland's first districtwide staff meeting earlier this month. Using four hand-papered, empty refrigerator boxes as props, Nyland and his new deputy, Gail Miller, stood before the district's employees and promised four R's — relationships, resources, respect and results.

The staff leapt to their feet and cheered.