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New Plymouth School District employees call on superintendent to resign

Despite two votes of "no confidence" by teachers and employees in the district in the past week - each hitting about 85 percent - Kevin Barker says he has no plans to leave his post.

It's the kind of drama in a small town that has everyone taking a side, and at the center is the New Plymouth School District's superintendent who is under fire by a lot of people who work for or with him.

Despite two votes of "no confidence" by teachers and employees in the district in the past week - each hitting about 85 percent - the superintendent says he has no plans to resign.

The teachers union in New Plymouth, New Plymouth Education Association, tells KTVB problems with the superintendent have been going on for years. But it all came to a head recently when the principal at New Plymouth High School says he was forced to resign.

"They are not new problems coming to light," New Plymouth High School teacher and executive member of the New Plymouth Education Association Pierrette Madrid-Harris said. "The teachers feel like we are not valued, we are not secure in our employment and we feel like we're in an unsafe environment where we're being bullied."

Madrid-Harris says there is no communication and unfair treatment, with some employees receiving better treatment than others.

We feel like we don't know if we're going to have jobs in the next day or two," she added. "We're doing our jobs to the best of our ability but we could do them a lot easier if we felt like we were being treated properly by the administration."

School district employees voted on a secret-ballot last week on whether they wanted to ask their superintendent Kevin Barker to resign and the education association says each ballot clearly stated, “a vote of no confidence is a vote to ask for a resignation.”

The union says the number of ballots cast represent about 83 percent of the employees in the school district.

"The results of the vote reflect a clear representation of the employees of the New Plymouth School District," the education association said in a letter to the school district board of trustees.

Seventy-three people who voted declared "no confidence" in Superintendent Barker; 13 voted that they have confidence in him; and 14 abstained. Of those who cast a vote, 85 percent declared "no confidence" in Superintendent Barker.

New leadership of the district's education association held a general membership meeting on Tuesday. During the meeting, Madrid-Harris says a motion was made and overwhelmingly approved for the education association to officially, formally call for Barker's resignation.

But the superintendent tells KTVB not every district employee knew the vote was happening.

"It's pretty suspect on their tactics and what they're doing," Barker added.

The union says when the high school principal rescinded his "forced resignation" and was placed on paid leave a few weeks ago as the board investigates him, it pushed them to move faster in calling for Barker to leave his post.

"We have no other administrator, we have no administrator," Madrid-Harris added. "It's put us in a very difficult position."

"[I] absolutely will not even be considering any type of resignation. I am busy moving forward with the business of the district," Superintendent Barker told KTVB.

Barker denies everything outlined in the union's letter addressed to himself and the board, that states he is creating a hostile teaching environment, carrying out divisive tactics, is setting a culture of fear, among other concerns outlined.

Barker had a five-and-a-half hour meeting with the former union leadership in December where he says concerns were raised and issues were hashed out.

"Not any of these have ever been mentioned or brought to my attention or ever been vocalized before the change in the new leadership," Barker told KTVB. "They have yet to reach out to me to have any kind of constructive meeting of any concerns, express questions."

This move and tone, he says, is in light of the recent personnel issues in the district - which he can't speak to.

"I have an open door policy, nobody has reached out to me to say we'd like to come and have a visit, we'd like to sit and answer questions," Barker added.

"There is a culture of fear here so there aren't a lot of people willing to walk into that office and speak to him for fear of retaliation," Madrid-Harris added.

KTVB spoke to the school board chairman on Wednesday as well; David Brogan tells us the board recently evaluated Superintendent Barker and gave him a vote of confidence. They even extended his contract.

Brogan tells us the New Plymouth School District Board of Trustees won't be asking Barker to resign.

The New Plymouth Education Association says if what they are asking for doesn't happen by the board of trustees meeting on Feb. 12, they have a plan. So stay tuned.

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