Vancouver Public Schools Board of Directors unanimously voted to place Superintendent Steve Webb on administrative leave Tuesday and plan to appoint an interim replacement for him Thursday.
The vote, which came as the board is involved in negotiations regarding Webb’s contract, followed a closed-door executive session to discuss the performance of a public employee Tuesday night.
Webb, superintendent since 2008, was in attendance during Tuesday’s meeting on Zoom, but he did not reappear once board members reconvened from executive session. He did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
An appointment of an interim superintendent has been scheduled for Thurday’s special board meeting, according to a revised agenda released Wednesday afternoon.
The board’s reasons for its action were not released.
The shake-up comes as the district plans to welcome middle school students into classrooms beginning with sixth-graders on Feb. 22.
The district completed its elementary hybrid phase-in plan Feb. 1 but announced on Feb. 4 there would be a one-week delay before hybrid learning could begin for students in grades six through eight, citing technical issues and human error on reopening surveys sent to families of middle school students.
The following day, Friday, the school board held a special meeting solely to discuss the performance of a public employee in executive session. It is unclear at this time if the evaluation item was in reference to Webb.
In August, Webb announced his retirement from the district effective in 2022, but he was scheduled to remain employed by the district as an executive coach and mentor to his successor during the 2021-22 school year. His last day as superintendent was set to be June 30, 2022.
Webb’s base salary for 2020-21 is $312,458 with a total compensation of $336,022, according to Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s statewide salary data.
The board had previously planned special meetings for Wednesday and Thursday, if needed, to hear the recommended superintendent finalists from the firm conducting the permanent replacement search. The search has been ongoing through Nebraska-based firm McPherson and Jacobsen since late 2020.
Webb joined Vancouver Public Schools in 2006 and became superintendent in July 2008.
