MIDDLETOWN—In the wake of Middletown Unified School District (MUSD) superintendent Tim Gill’s recent sudden resignation, Middletown Middle School and Minnie Cannon Elementary School Principal Thad Owens was officially named to the vacant office on Wednesday during the Regular Board of Trustees Meeting. Teacher Larry Allen was appointed as the new president of the board for the 2022 calendar year and Matthew Coit was approved as principal of Coyote Valley Elementary School.
According to a press release earlier this month, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office became aware of an incident involving a parent upset about a school policy allegedly recording a private conversation between themselves and the school superintendent without the superintendent’s consent.
An investigation was initiated and resulted in the issuance of a search warrant that was served on March 2, 2022. According to the LCSO release, pursuant to the search warrant, several items were seized and will be examined to determine whether or not a crime has been committed.
Department officials noted this is an ongoing investigation. and added that “As with any allegation of criminal activity, there is always a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact Deputy Nate Newton at nathaniel.newton@lakecountyca.gov or (707)262-4200.
Neither district officials nor the LCSO gave further details on the case.
Welcoming Owens, the monthly board meeting started by emphasizing the aspects of support and respect towards the staff and workers, whether they want to wear masks or not.
Speakers, represented by parents, took the microphone during public hearing to remind the board that both masking and vaccination are a personal choice and, no matter their decision on mask mandates, it must be supported. “The vast majority of teachers in this district are amazing educators. We are incredibly lucky to have these teachers and staff. We will continue to advocate for parental rights and the rights of our children. We will continue to support good teachers in our community,” said Jeremy Rarick who identified himself as the founder of Unmask Our Kids Lake County.
“It is Middletown Teachers Association (MTA)’s desire that both the new board president and its new superintendent take advantage of the support offered by the Lake County Office of Education,” said the President of the Middletown Teachers Association, Sharon Huggins.
According to Brock Falkenberg, the Lake County Office of Education (LCOE) has already transferred $10,000 to pay for leadership transition coaching for the new superintendent and board chair training for the newl board president. “LCOE has offered support in the areas of accurate community data collection. MTA believes this training is imperative for our leadership in order to be able to combat misinformation, accurately represent the desires of our community and for the board and the superintendent to perform their duties accurately and ethically,” said Huggins, who added that historically, MUSD has been said to have resisted support from LCOE.
“In these unprecedented times, MTA believes the leadership needs as much support and training as it is available to them, and we should take advantage of that,” she said.
Coyote Valley Elementary School 4th grade teacher, Melissa Stine, asked the Board “to consider staying on the AVID Path that Tim Gill began to pave for our district. This was a positive track for student achievements and as well as an opportunity to bring our staff together for student success from grades K through 12.”
According to the MUSD website, AVID is a college readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll and persist in four-year college and universities.
Middletown Unified School District will hold a special meeting on Monday, March 14, at 8:30 am. The next regular board meeting happens in April 13 2022, at 6 p.m.
