Fairbanks, AK - Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board President Heidi Haas isn’t optimistic about the panel coming to an agreement with Superintendent Pete Lewis that would allow him to return to work. The school board fired Lewis last week after conducting a lengthy investigation of his handling of a Hutchison High school tutor accused of sexually abusing a student. Lewis has the right to appeal, and his attorney wrote the board Friday requesting arbitration. Haas says board attorneys will respond, but Lewis is unlikely to get his job back.
"I don't think that the board has given any indication that there would be an ability to work things out. There's some significant concerns and through this process significant things have come to light," she said.
Haas says the board does not plan on meeting to discuss the situation until next week. She says the board is on uncharted ground, and is going by state law and the superintendent’s contract in moving forward, and does not anticipate a quick resolution.
"My understanding is that it can take quite some time, so we will as a board and as a district, just continue moving forward with our interim superintendent," she said.
Assistant superintendent Karen Gaborik has been filling the top job since Lewis was put on administrative leave last month, and Haas says Gaborik will stay on. "We would not be able to proceed with a superintendent search for placing someone permanently into that position until we have fully exhausted the process with Mr. Lewis," she said.
Haas says it’s too late to conduct a search and hire a superintendent in time for the start of school in August. Lewis and another administrator were put on leave directly related to the Hutchison tutor sex abuse case. Haas says two school staff were also put on leave as the result of information uncovered during the investigation, but not related to the Hutchison case.
