Congratulations to the Battle Ground school board for showing the courage to do what they had to do. They made the decision that Shonny Bria needed to be replaced, and they took steps to be in a position to replace her. As far as I am concerned, all the uproar about the payment to replace her is justification of their decision to keep that information from the public.
The board had a financial obligation to Bria. They were going to be forced to meet that obligation and an attempt to avoid the obligation would have resulted in the additional cost of attorney fees plus any punitive damages a jury would most likely add to an award.
Are those who are complaining about the $401,715 payment saying that the negative impact of two more years of her leadership would be less of a burden to the district than the money they paid to get rid of her early? If so, I strongly disagree with them.
The school board demonstrated leadership and insight by doing what had to be done for the sake of the district in spite of the cost. The uproar over their decision only proves the wisdom of their attempt to hide their action from the public.
