Records Show Finalist for MESD Job at Center of Former Superintendent's Ouster

Karen Fischer Gray is head of the small north Portland school district and it was in her district that the catalyzing conversation among the county’s eight superintendents to convince the MESD board to terminate [former Superintendent Barbara] Jorgensen took place.

Gray says she didn't spearhead the effort, it was simply more convenient to everyone to host the meeting in her district offices.

"That was a group decision by the superintendent council,” Gray says. "I didn’t speak more than anybody else. I didn’t push more than anyone else. ... There was no ulterior motive except: 'We need services for our kids.”

But records that WW obtained in March, when the MESD board announced it was firing Jorgensen, show Gray took what appears to be a leading role in coordinating the effort by the component superintendents to bring their complaints to MESD's board of directors. 

That might not be a huge deal, in normal times. The superintendents were all displeased with MESD's service, so in that sense Gray's complaints about Jorgensen's leadership style didn't stick out.

But these are not normal times. MESD in recent months has suffered a spate of negative headlines stemming from its very public dispute with a teacher who says he was discriminated against for being gay. Brett Bigham had been the 2014 Oregon Teacher of the Year before he and officials with MESD started trading pointed accusations, a back and forth that resulted in Bigham's firing in April. (Bigham was later rehired in order to be fired; he's still in limbo.)

In the aftermath, two new Portlanders won election to the MESD board in May, promising to usher in a new era of greater transparency and accountability. A third new candidate, who ran unopposed, will also join the board in July.

Emails show Gray—who has not yet returned a call from WW—did more than host superintendents in her district to talk about MESD. She also communicated directly with the chairman of MESD's board of directors, Bernie Giusto.

On Feb. 19, Gray wrote to her fellow superintendents:

Please plan to attend an important meeting Tuesday, February 24 at 7:30 a.m. at the Parkrose School District Board Room at 10636 NE Prescott. The meeting is to discuss the future of MESD.

On March 3, Gray she again wrote to superintendents:

Two things:

1. How can I help get us prepped for the March 13 supt council meeting at Parkrose MS with regards to 2014-15 MESD service plans? We need to discuss the Plan services in order for our districts to make decisions about next year. I am sure that the ESD staff would also like to know how to plan their budget.

2. I have a meeting tomorrow with MESD Chair Giusto to discuss next steps. I'll keep you all posted.

On March 5, Gray followed up:

This morning, Chair Giusto and I spoke regarding MESD leadership. This is the upshot:

1. Barbara Jorgensen is no longer working in the ESD building. They are sorting through her contract and making those decisions.

2. Jim Rose will be the interim and help move things along. He will most probably not be a candidate for a permanent solution but will assist the board to keep the organization intact while they look.

3. Chair Giusto and Jim Rose will visit our March 13th superintendent's meeting at Parkrose Middle School because they would like to have our input on a search/selection process moving forward.

Siobhan Burke, an incoming board member, says she has concerns about two potential conflicts of interest. What was the extent of Gray's role in Jorgensen's departure? And was she involved in establishing the search process? "At what point did she say I'm going to apply for this?" Burke asks. "It seems like a really compressed timeline."