Kent School District Superintendent Vela gets 2-year contract extension

After nearly six hours of contentious discussion among the Kent School Board, it voted to approve a two-year contract extension for Kent School District Superintendent Israel Vela.

Board President Meghin Margel and members Tim Clark, Awale Farah and Andy Song voted to extend the contract to June 30, 2027 during the marathon meeting Wednesday night, Sept. 11. Board member Donald Cook, whose numerous questions about the contract led to the lengthy meeting that ended just prior to 2 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, abstained.

Song requested about one hour into the discussion to table the matter until the next meeting, in part because public testimony prior to the discussion raised additional questions about the contract. Cook also wanted more time to consider the contract. But the other three board members voted down the motion.

Vela was hired by the board in 2022 on a controversial 3-2 vote, as two members wanted to continue the search to find a stronger candidate to replace Calvin Watts, who took a superintendent’s job in Georgia. Clark and Farah voted to hire Vela. The other current board members weren’t on the board at that time.

That hire caused surprise in town after the board voted 4-0 to pay Vela $355,000 per year on a three-year contract, higher than recent superintendent hires in Seattle and Federal Way and 27% higher than the $279,500 annual salary paid to Watts.

Vela’s annual salary will remain $355,000 with his new contract. But he now will receive 6.5% of his salary each year to put into a tax sheltered annuity, an amount worth $23,075 per year in deferred compensation.

Despite no increase in his base salary, Vela still remains higher paid than superintendents in other districts in the Puget Sound area.

Lake Washington pays a base salary of $348,000, Seattle $335,000, Northshore $327,000, Federal Way $323,000 and Tacoma $295,000, according to figures provided at the meeting by Curtis Leonard, attorney for the Kent School District.

Leonard, who helped the district negotiate the new contract, provided the salary figures after Cook asked for them. Cook also asked for a breakdown of other pay in the contract.

Vela will receive an annual stipend of $5,000 for travel within the district, such as visiting schools and other district functions. He previously didn’t receive any in-district travel pay.

Cook wanted to know why that pay was added to the new contract.

Leonard said that Vela didn’t submit receipts for in-district travel in the past, even though he could have.

“He did it for free,” Leonard said.

“If he’s willing to do it for free, I would not stop him,” said Cook, who then wanted to know how the amount of $5,000 was chosen.

Leonard said the $5,000 figure actually is lower than what most other districts pay superintendents for in-district travel, with some near $10,000 and others above that figure.

The continuous questions from Cook upset Farah, who wasn’t at the board meeting but phoned in to participate, as the discussion continued late into the night.

“How long will this go on?” Farah said. “People (district employees) came to work at 7 a.m. This is inhumane. Don, you know what you’re doing, you’re punishing people who work for the district, waiting for him to complete. All of your questions asked have already been answered. …This is not disparaging, this is what you’re doing, you are not being cute, this is ridiculous.”

Cook replied to Farah that early in the meeting the board could have postponed to its next meeting voting to extend the contract. Cook said questions came to him from the public after the district posted the proposed contract five days ago on its website.

“This is why we should do a first and second reading like we do with our policies as this is just as important,” Cook said about delaying a vote. “For three years we are talking roughly $1.2 million out of all the pockets of the people here and into our superintendent’s pocket.”

Margel responded to how Cook all of a sudden had lot of questions, but didn’t have them during board executive session discussions about the contract.

“I find it interesting you had three months and did not have any questions and the public has it five days and has lots of questions,” Margel said.

“They are smarter than me,” Cook said.

With the new contract, Vela also will receive $10,000 per year to travel to appropriate professional meetings at the local, state, and national level. He received $4,000 per year under the initial contract.

As for vacation, Vela will receive 25 paid vacation days, the same as before. But Vela will now be able to cash out as many as 10 vacation days per year. He also will get six flex leave days, three employee discretionary leave days and two on call leave days. He had three flex days and three employee discretionary days under the original contract.

Vela still maintains language from the original contract that makes sure he will get severance pay even if the board decides to terminate his contract early. The contract states Vela would receive 12 months of annual base salary or the option to return to his former position as chief school operations and academic support officer.

Song and Cook also had questions about the language of the contract and the relationship between the superintendent and the board.

Any dispute between the superintendent and a board member would go to mediation in an effort to avoid any lawsuits. But Song and Cook raised questions about who would pay for the mediation. Leonard said the district would cover the costs and not individual board members.

Cook said in the end the mediation language all sounded like a potential waste of taxpayers money.

Cook asked Leonard for additional information about superintendent contracts he has dealt with in other school districts.

“Is it typically normal to have this kind of contract where board members can’t do unlawful actions, isn’t that kind of self explanatory?” Cook asked.

“It is not normal,” Leonard said. “But nothing in Kent is normal.”

Public opposition

During the public comment period prior to the board’s discussion of extending Vela’s contract, nine out of 10 people who spoke were against extending the contract or at least wanted the board to delay a vote.

“He’s not the right person to lead the district,” said one woman, who added bonds and levies will continue to fail under Vela’s leadership.

The contract extension also comes despite opposition from the district unions.

The leaders of seven Kent School District labor groups, including the teachers union, asked for Vela and Margel in May to resign and delivered a vote of no confidence in each leader.

The reasons included the three consecutive levy/bond measure failures for capital projects and technology. Voters rejected a $495 million bond in April 2023 to upgrade schools with 48% in favor while 60% approval was needed because it was a bond measure.

Voters also turned down Capital Projects and Technology replacement levy measures in November 2023 and April 2024. The measures would have supported health and safety upgrades, facility equipment replacements and improvement in technology education.

The board submitted another levy proposal that’s on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

The group also opposed the board’s controversial 3-2 passage of Resolution 1669 in March to keep Board member Cook out of all labor contract negotiations with the district. Cook and Song voted against the measure.

Cook has since filed a civil lawsuit against the school district, Vela and Margel for adoption of the committee that excluded him. That suit remains in the courts.

Board support

Margel said at the meeting that she supports keeping Vela on the job because consistency is important.

“I’m seeing programs coming to fruition,” Margel said. “In no world would I say we are a perfect district but there is a desire and plan to getting to improvements. I like where we are going, and the partnerships with the superintendent. I’m happy with the process.”

Clark continues to support Vela.

“I believe the school district is working as hard as it can to litigate factors not working and the superintendent has provided the leadership,” Clark said.

Clark said he has visited every school in the district and observed what is going on.

“It’s incremental changes,” he said. “The strategic plan is the guidance as we improve efficiencies.”

Farah also continues to back Vela.

“People say things that we’ve reached a ceiling and can’t go beyond this point,” Farah said. “But this man has been in the district and knows it inside and out.”

Vela was principal of Meridian Elementary School in Kent from 1999-2005 and returned to the district in 2016 as the chief of school operations and academic support officer.