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ROBERT KINGMost on the School Board praised Wendy Tellone. But her dealings with the media and her management style cost her the support of one board member.
BROOKSVILLE - School superintendent Wendy Tellone received a one-year contract extension Tuesday night, but the School Board's vote wasn't unanimous and it came with the lowest performance rating in her short tenure.
The School Board voted 4-1 to extend Tellone's contract through August 2006. It put off discussing a pay increase - Tellone's salary is $106,400 - until later this year.
Voting against extending Tellone's contract was board member Gail David, who said her objection was based solely on the superintendent's management style. It took David four pages to outline those concerns in a memo she attached to her evaluation of Tellone.
Every year, School Board members rate their superintendent on a scale of one to five, with five being "excellent." Tellone's average rating this year was 4.19 - not bad, but well below the grades she received in the two previous evaluations since her 2001 appointment to the superintendent's job. Last year, Tellone's rating was 4.78.
Tellone was praised for recognizing the achievements of school district employees and providing them with continuous education opportunities. She was credited with developing goals for the district. And it is obvious she has some fans on the board.
Board member John Druzbick awarded Tellone "excellent" ratings in 70 of the 74 areas in which he gave her a score. Board members Sandra Nicholson and Robert Wiggins both graded Tellone with scores of about 4.5.
And Malcolm, despite his criticisms, credited Tellone as being creative and "one of the hardest working superintendents this district has ever had."
Yet there were some concerns raised in the evaluations.
Malcolm's rating of Tellone dropped almost a full point from the 4.9 of a year ago; David's dropped even further, to 2.8.
Both described Tellone as being "defensive" and unwilling to accept criticism. Malcolm said Tellone has become "less open to suggestion" from board members that could have spared her from controversies she encountered in the past year.
Malcolm and David both said Tellone has a poor relationship with the local news media.
Malcolm called her dealings with the Times "a public battle" that needs improving both for Tellone's sake and the school district's.
David chided Tellone for resisting the newspaper's request to open to the public a meeting that decided the fate of a library book, Deenie, a parent challenged as inappropriate. The Times sued the district, which gave in and opened the meeting. David said the legal fight was "a total waste of money."
Malcolm and David both said they had trouble staying in touch with Tellone.
Malcolm said Tellone couldn't seem to find a spot for him on her calendar. David said Tellone's effort to make weekly phone calls to board members failed in her case because the superintendent seems to make a habit of dialing a number for David that Tellone knows will reach only an answering machine.
David described Tellone as impolite, "sometimes sullen" and prone to directing "dirty looks" to David and others. She said Tellone appears resentful of the board's authority.
In two public board meetings Tuesday where the evaluations were discussed, Tellone had almost nothing to say regarding such matters. Once the board cast its 4-1 vote to extend her contract, she simply thanked them for allowing her the privilege of serving them.
She had slightly more to say in a memo issued on the eve of Tuesday's meetings, one which she says she took time to word carefully. The memo's most direct remarks were aimed at David, a two-term board member who is vacating her seat in November.
"I disagree with many of Mrs. David's comments and remarks, and find them incorrect," Tellone wrote. "I consider portions of Mrs. David's evaluation as personal attacks rather than professional assessments of my performance."
In an interview following Tuesday's public meetings, Tellone told reporters she is sorry David feels the way she does. She said she would try to address David's concerns.
But perhaps the best perspective on Tellone's situation came from Malcolm in the final strokes of a handwritten commentary he attached to Tellone's numeric evaluation.
"Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives," Malcolm concluded. "But if we do not correct the latter, in my opinion, it will soon be the other way around."
- Robert King covers Spring Hill. He can be reached at rking@sptimes.com or 848-1432.