Portland educators defend superintendent in wake of resignation announcement

Portland educators defended Portland Public Schools Superintendent Xavier Botana on Tuesday night in the wake of his resignation announcement, urging the district to to continue his work prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Superintendent Botana has demonstrated to be a courageous, bold, just and strong leader for our district,” said Betsy Paz-Gyimesi, a Spanish-speaking family and community engagement specialist for the district.

Portland Public School’s Superintendent Xavier Botana and school board member Abusana Bondo listen to Kerrie Dowdy, Portland Education Association president, speak during public comment in a meeting on Dec. 6. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

“He has given a voice to communities that have always been marginalized and has had the courage to take on the systemic racism that is so firmly rooted in our educational system. I am deeply disappointed in this board for having succumbed to the public pressure and making the superintendent the scapegoat,” she said.

Botana will resign from the district by Jan. 31, around six months earlier than previously scheduled. Botana offered his resignation to school board Chair Sarah Lentz last Wednesday and the board accepted his resignation Friday.

He is to be paid until his original planned departure on June 30, 2023, and will be available to support the district’s transition into new leadership if requested by the chair or the interim superintendent. His annual salary is $148,000.

Botana originally planned to leave his post in June but tendered his resignation amid the ongoing payroll crisis that over the past few months has resulted in hundreds of district employees not being paid accurately or on time and has left some facing debt, interest and fees.

“I think it is in the district’s best interest that I step aside and allow new leadership to bring closure to these matters,” Botana said in his email to Lentz.

Many who spoke on Tuesday night encouraged the district to continue to focus on equity beyond Botana’s departure.

“I believe in the Portland Promise and the goals (Botana) set to root out inequities in the system,” Maureen Clancy, a language access coordinator, said of the district’s strategic plan.

“His legacy will be a more equitable school system,” she said, adding that she intends to honor him by remaining steadfast in those goals.

Under Botana the district developed the Portland Promise, its current strategic plan that commits to ensuring its graduates are prepared and empowered by focusing on academic excellence, social and emotional skills, creating and retaining a diverse group of quality staff, and breaking down inequities.

Following the public comment period, Lentz responded that the board can and is dedicated to continuing Botana’s commitment to equity.

“I recognize that people are feeling sadness and loss,” Lentz said. “I’m hopeful to get to a place as a community where we can both uphold his work and understand that it was time for him to move on.”

She said the board is conducting listening tours across the district and larger community regarding Botana’s resignation along with other district issues. She also said that the board is working on identifying an interim superintendent.

Tuesday night’s public comment was in stark contrast to that of just two weeks ago, when dozens of employees attending a school board meeting expressed their concerns about the district’s payroll problems and its leadership, some even calling for Botana and former board Chair Emily Figdor to resign.

Some who spoke at that meeting said that at that point the district owed them thousands of dollars, Portland Education Association President Kerrie Dowdy said union members had reached out to her in need of immediate financial assistance due to not being paid appropriately, and others said they felt ignored and belittled by district leadership.

But on Tuesday night, educators and parents said that working under Botana had been the highlight of their career, that they didn’t think he should take the fall for the payroll crisis and that the school district was using him as a scapegoat.

“I’m here to express my sadness about losing Botana,” said Caroline Clavel, an English language learner teacher in the district. She understands that the payroll crisis is serious but doesn’t think Botana is to blame. “It sounded like a lot of factors came into this,” she said.

Casco Bay High School teacher Susan McCray said she was angry at the school board for accepting his resignation. “Xavier has guided us with steadiness, efficiency, compassion and an ability to hold the vision while getting things done,” she said. “We have to remember what Xavier Botana has done for us as a district and a city.”

Speaking for the Portland Administrators Association and without expressing either support or opposition to Botana’s resignation, Ocean Avenue Elementary School Principal Beverly Stevens said that school leaders are surprised, concerned and uneasy about his planned early departure and worried how district leaders might be shifted around to fill his role. Stevens and other school leaders who spoke on behalf of the administrators said they appreciate his transparency and humility and are committed to supporting all their students from pre-kindergarten to adult learners.

The Portland school district’s major payroll challenges began in late October, following the departure of key payroll staff. But the underlying issues – including a lack of built-in oversight and checks and balances, and the use of an outdated system of payroll processing – that contributed to the ongoing payroll crisis have been present for longer.

Since the crisis began, at least 750 employees have communicated payroll issues with the district ranging from questions about how to access payroll and benefit information to missing pay.

The district and the educator union this month signed a legally binding document outlining how and when the district will remedy its payroll issues and agreeing to processes for employees to recoup money if they were paid incorrectly and if they were subject to incidental fees or debt due to not being paid accurately.

The district also agreed to pay legally required fines related to its payroll issues, an outside audit of its payroll system, brought on a technology specialist to work on the system and is making plans to outsource it by spring.

Lentz, the school board chair, said Monday that many payroll issues have been rectified but did not share exactly how many are outstanding or when they will be resolved.