Michele Greenwood Bettinger

03/29/2026

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxEuFXoIObAPGmlpWa8tIeUXiemwq6rRgO?si=uhX7h4XTNXSkKkqD

03/19/2026

Just a question. Do you believe that someone earning 6 figures (plus 6 figures in "stipends" and unchecked "honorariums" should have annual goals and an evaluation of job performance?

I know I do.

Apparently a majority of the board do not agree that they should follow policy and law and meaningfully evaluate there ONE employee.

On 3.18.26 I received the following response from the public records officer of the district:

Ms. Bettinger:

Three records at this time have been located that are responsive to your request.

Please note, third party notification has been made to Superintendent Vela pursuant to RCW 42.56.540. Should Mr. Vela nor his legal counsel object to the release of the records, please expect the records on April 8, 2026.

Thank you,

Jerome Wilen
KSD Public Records Office

This response referred to my public record request of 2/12/26. One of the MAIN duties of the board is to evaluate the superintendent. That didn't occur last year in any meaningful way. I requested 5 documents. It looks like 3 are available but, I may never know which 3 because, do we really think Vela (or his lawyers) will "allow" it.

Your tax dollars hard at work!

It appears we are on-track for a non-evaluation again this year.

If you feel like reading further, below is the email I sent on 2.12.26

Good Afternoon Board,

In light of the recent budget crisis announced by the superintendent. It is imperative that the board and superintendent can point to specific, measurable, accountable, relevant and timely goal achievement based upon an "agreed upon criteria" (goals). That is one of the boards first and foremost duties.

Whichever board director is in charge of the agenda should be responsible for ensuring that this evaluative work is part of the annual calendaring agenda. Failing to perform a transparent and honest superintendent evaluation puts the organization at grave risk of legal action on many fronts.

In years past, the Kent School District school board engaged in a multi-step process: public work sessions to set the goals; a public vote to approve the goals; public check-ins mid-year at a minimum/quarterly (best practice); a public meeting for the superintendent to present his final results; the superintendent's private submission of the self-evaluation to the board; the submission of individual board ratings privately submitted to the board president for compilation; once compiled, discussion of the review in executive session. At the end of that process per policy 1630, the board, based on the evaluation, may terminate, renew or extend the superintendent’s contract for periods not to exceed three years.

I haven't seen one meaningful meeting on the public calendar regarding the agenda since the '23-'24 school year. The last meeting that related to the evaluation provess that I can find was the meeting regarding the extension of the superintendent's contract after the board's evaluation of contract year Aug '23 - July '24. That contract was approved in a meeting that began on September 11, 2024 and ended on September 12, 2024.

I did a record request last year for the "agreed upon criteria" for the Superintendent's '24-'25 school year evaluation. It returned "no responsive documents". Yet, somehow an evaluation took place. The only way for that to have happened is if those board directors who conducted the evaluation based their evaluation specifically on the following documents:
The superintendent's self-evaluation for contract year Aug '24-'July '25
The superinendent's job description
A performance appraisal instrument for contract year Aug '24-'July '25
Policy
The Superintendent's contract

I have in my possession/access to, everything from contract year Aug '24-'July '25 except the following the items highlighted above.

But, I cannot find a board meeting where a majority of the board voted to approve goals for this contract year of Aug '25-July '26. In the off-chance that I missed that vote you'll also see that in my request.

NOTE: I'm fully aware the board recently did a review of the strategic plan measures but that is not specifically called out as evaluative criteria by this policy, so please do not include any documents related to that plan. Further, the superintendent's contract is over 20 years old so that wouldn't include language about a strategic plan being evaluative criteria; as that concept of the strategic plan didn't exist in KSD 20 years ago; so unless his contract language specifically names the strategic plan as evaluative criteria then, it doesn't qualify.

Though, in the past, one or two strategic plan goals have been part of a superintendent's "agreed upon criteria" (goals) for a specific year.

Consider this my record request for the following documents:

1. The superintendent's self-evaluation for contract year Aug '24-'July '25
2. A performance appraisal instrument for contract year Aug '24-'July '25
3. The completed performance appraisal for contract year Aug '24-'July '25
4. The agreed upon criteria (board-approved goals) for the contract year Aug '25-July'26
5. The dates of any mid-year goal reviews for contract year Aug '25-July'26

I know the board recently did a review of the strategic plan but that is not specifically called out as evaluative criteria by this policy.

For reference, I have provided the full text from the board policy requiring annual superintendent evaluation. (this was added in the email. Here is the link to that policy: https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/ksdwa/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=86D59T63DE02 )

Sincerely,
Michele Greenwood Bettinger

Evaluation is primarily for the purpose of improving educational performance, professional growth, ensuring adherence to policy and contract, and strengthening the working relationship between the board, community and the superintendent.

03/04/2026

“They” say a job title doesn’t make one a leader, it’s the BEHAVIOR that makes one a leader; behavior that creates great organizational systems and inspires people to follow you out of respect and not out of fear of retaliation.
In KSD, the current system seems designed to cause burnout in staff and parents alike. This system is being nurtured, fed and watered by the board president and two other directors.
The burnout these “leaders” are creating causes the loss of great staff and the families who adored them.
Shame OFF anyone who refuses to be abused by the organizational failure in KSD and leaves.

03/03/2026

If you are harassed, intimidated or bullied by leadership for speaking the truth, or asking questions, then you are not in a safe environment. Any “leader” who considers themselves a victim when truth is spoken (or an uncomfortable question is asked) and retaliates with any form of harassment is not a safe person to be around. Do you feel safe -are children safe- in the culture and environment created by the leaders in the Kent School District??

03/02/2026

And, in school districts, families quit the GAP between words spoken and the truth that is revealed in public records and lawsuits. Covid turned families with the privilege of time and/or money into consumers. Many of our families live just as close to schools in Auburn, Renton, Highline and Tahoma as they do to KSD. Homeschooling networks are strong. Parents driving to Tacoma or Seattle for work also have taken advantage of that to transfer their students to other districts. Let’s stop being “nice” or polite and name the gap for what it really is: Deceit. Are the leaders in this district brave enough (or emotionally intelligent enough) to ask families why they aren’t choosing to keep their beloved children in KSD?

03/01/2026

Calling the behavior out can be dangerous; but it’s what lets some of us sleep at night. In 1989, I moved across the country for a dream job at WDW. 6 months in, I witnessed such egregious sexual harassment that I had to report it. My co-worker who also witnessed didn’t want to b/c this coworker wanted longevity w/the company and didn’t want me to report. I did, anyway. Happy to report that WDW took the complaint seriously, the offender “retired” shortly after. My co-worker? Still works for the company. I can sleep at night because I spoke up. I spoke up about the harassment, intimidation and bullying I experienced from the current Kent School District Superintendent’s leadership and it ramped up and got worse until a colleague threatened to personally sue me for not going along with the 🐂 💩. No one will blame you if you if you pull your student from this district, resign from this district or sue this district for failure to provide a free and appropriate public education or for failing to treat you with dignity and respect. It is illegal to retaliate against whistleblowers. Speak up so you can sleep at night.

02/03/2026

When the time comes for a levy vote: share w/your friends & neighbors that Vela got an unexplained 6-figure in stipend money. That he’s more than his second year without goals.

When the time comes to vote for board directors: share with your friends & neighbors that Meghin Margel has repeatedly overstepped her authority as board president and failed her constituents by not holding superintendent evaluations.

12/04/2025

As I’m going through my very small storage closet, I’m deciding if I should free up
about 3 feet of shelf space by getting rid of all my notes from
my time on the board. I used to
email myself and print out the emails for posterity when I started feeling a little alone and crazy. There’s an entire folder of emails back and forth about me trying to get an answer about WHO was the board’s counsel (lawyer). NO ONE would aswer me!
It all started when I documented (in writing) a potential OPMA violation ( a former board president confirming votes before a meeting/vote took place). Literally MONTHS of back and forth and bullying. Anyone want to have a bonfire with me? Or should I just scan them and set up a Dropbox for any future board directors??

06/12/2025

I cannot stay silent. What I witnessed last night, 6.11.2025, at the Kent School Board meeting was atrocious.

The board vice president was trying to get more information on why it seems that the board president is making decisions without the full board present and why there is direct evidence that the vice president is being purposely excluded from communications.

Public statements at a meeting on 9/11/2024 revealed that the board president single-handedly negotiated the superintendent's contract on behalf of the whole board with -apparently- no other board involvement.

Rather than engage in an open an honest conversation about this pattern of the president's failure to inform and overreach, the board president made some -in my opinion- offensive and potentially slanderous comments about the board vice president.

The district's lawyer got involved and kept silencing the board vice president if he got "off topic" but allowed the president to make these comments -which were very much off topic- to continue.

This bullying and gaslighting of this specific elected public official began nearly on day one when the incumbent was narrowly replaced in a free and fair election.

This behavior in open public meeting is not good for students or staff.

I know from personal experience that what happens with this superintendent and his board majority in private is even worse than what happens in public and so I cannot even imagine how horrible it is behind the scenes.

Our tax dollars are being spent on lawsuits aimed to stop this behavior and it has only gotten worse.

Kent students and staff deserve much better than this.

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11/26/2024

I’m a reader. When things have me concerned, I read. I recently read “On Tyranny” by Timothy Snyder that has helped me greatly. Some other great books to read right now: “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler; “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. Also anything by Maya Angelou or Toni Morrison. I always encourage people to read the books that others want to ban!

11/15/2024

I highly recommend reading “On Tyranny: 20 lessons from the 20th Century”. I’ve learned a lot. It’s a very quick read and solid advice to face ANY tyrant or group of people trying to take away the rights of others. These are the chapter headings (in the photo).