While Bellevue teachers may have voted “no confidence” in Superintendent Amalia Cudeiro’s management style, school board member Chris Marks said the board has complete confidence in Cudeiro’s abilities.
The school board is responsible for evaluating the superintendent based on a variety of factors – especially overall academic achievement. While the board will officially be releasing its evaluation of Cudeiro at the end of September, Marks said assessments have remained consistent during Cudeiro’s two years in the district.
“Positive, both times,”Marks said. “But we’re also not ignoring the vote of no confidence. We want to listen to what teachers have to say.”
By that, Marks means the school board will invest in gaining feedback from school community members, staff and teachers through face-to-face conversations and the development of a more efficient survey. The survey the board distributed in the past, that asked the participants their views on the superintendent’s performance among other questions, received little response, Marks said.
Bellevue Education Association president Michele Miller previously stated she hopes the school board will consider the “no-confidence” vote in the spring, when Cudeiro’s three-year contract is up.
Miller has said her problems with the superintendent’s leadership style include lack of long-term investment and an ethical conflict of interest: Cudeiro’s connection to the firm she co-founded in California, where she is still listed as a senior partner on the firm’s website, www.targetedleadership.net.
Marks on the other hand, said she sees Cudeiro’s experience at the firm, which provides training and coaching to key district leaders, as a strength. Added to a resume which includes experience as a former Massachusetts Deputy Superintendent, and California principal and teacher, Cudeiro was a qualified candidate to replace Mike Riley in 2009, Marks said.
Marks said the lack of confidence in the superintendent’s abilities may also be due to the big changes happening in the district because of the new teacher contract.
“[Cudeiro’s] potential for us to make progress in the district is excellent. Her dedication is solid,” Marks said.
Editor’s note: Michele Miller did not respond to emails and was unavailable by phone Wednesday and Thursday. But The Bellevue Reporter will continue to update this story as information becomes available.
