Some Bayfield community members are questioning the need to fire former Superintendent Kevin Aten when he had two years remaining on his $145,000 annual contract. The school district has to continue paying him for 18 months, for a total of $217,500.
“I think it was unfortunate in the middle of the year,” said Carol Blatnick, who was on the board when Aten was hired in 2018.
The board voted unanimously on Tuesday to terminate his contract, which had been renewed in 2021 for three years.
In a brief statement Friday, board President Mike Foutz said Aten’s contract needed to be renewed or nonrenewed in February. When asked why the board terminated the contract at a cost of $217,500 to the school district, he said, members “felt it would be best for the district to make the leadership change effective immediately rather than move forward under a nonrenewal.”
Aten declined to elaborate on the reasons for his contract not being renewed other than to say: “The board and I have core philosophical differences and values for the education of students.”
The board’s employee review from Feb. 23, 2021, might provide some insight into his firing.
Board members cited the following:
- Lack of transparency in seeking other positions. Aten was a finalist for the superintendent’s job in Helena, Montana.
- “Does not readily accept views/opinions discordant to his own.”
The board gave Aten high marks for budgeting and leadership skills. The review, which was requested by The Durango Herald, was heavily redacted.
The review concludes, “administrative collaboration with the Board of Directors and communication regarding executive decisions made by the Superintendent to the Board of Directors must improve moving forward.”
On Friday, Aten pointed out that during his tenure, teachers received seven raises in five years. Classified staff members received a 7% to 10% raise in January, along with $1,000 in COVID-19 hazard pay.
Dipping into budget reserves was approved by the board in 2020 to avoid staff layoffs, he said, but that couldn’t continue in 2021, which is when the district laid off about 10 staff members, citing a loss of state funding.
Blatnick pointed out several things Aten accomplished in his four years of leading the district, including a new mission strategy and providing community agencies with the use of the old Bayfield school building downtown, including Pine River Shares, Pueblo Community College and other educational entities.
“It has been a really tough year and last year was, too,” Blatnick said. “I was really sad to see this happen to him.”
While Bayfield and other school districts in Colorado have faced challenges as a result of the pandemic, Bayfield’s teacher turnover in 2021 was 10.7%, compared with 20.8% for Durango and 20.6% in Ignacio, according to Colorado Department of Education statistics.
With the school district facing continued tight budgets and staff shortages, one former staff member asked why Aten wasn’t kept on as a long-term substitute or a bus driver.
Superintendent contracts cover leading the district, not any other duties, Blatnick said.
Aten was hired in 2018 for $135,000 annually. In 2019, his salary was increased to $140,000, and in 2020, his salary was increased to $145,000, according to copies of his contracts the district provided to the Herald.
Several teachers and former teachers have described Aten as arrogant, but they have said the same thing of his interim replacement, Leon Hanhardt, the assistant superintendent and former principal at the high school.
“The school district did not improve under Dr. Aten’s guidance, and I’m not sure if it’s going to improve with the replacement we have now,” said a former Bayfield teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The teacher also questioned why the board extended Aten’s contract last year if there were problems with his leadership style.
On top of finding a permanent superintendent, the next challenge the board faces is deciding if Bayfield should switch to a four-day teaching week. So far, the concept is being supported by teachers, but is receiving pushback from local parents.
The next board meeting is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 22.
