Marysville School District HR Director announces departure

Marysville School District HR Director departing amid budget turmoil

After months spent trying to get a handle on millions of dollars in budget deficits, followed by a recent whistleblower complaint, another high-level administrator has left the Marysville School District.

Marysville, wash. - After months spent trying to get a handle on millions of dollars in budget deficits, followed by a recent whistleblower complaint, another high-level administrator has left the Marysville School District.

The district announced that the Human Resources Executive Director had left late this week.

"I think he knew it was time to go," said J. Hooman, Parent and Co-Founder of the Marysville Community Coalition.

At last week's Marysville School Board Meeting, J. Hooman and other parents reacted to a letter that was written by Executive Director of Finance and Operations Dr. Lisa Gonzales, accusing the district of law violations, inaccurate state reports and cronyism. At the time, many expressed surprise.

Just days later, the district announced that HR Executive Director Alivn Cooper was leaving.

"I kind of figured at this point, with there being a pending investigation, and some other information that came about, such as his behavior during a meeting that was held at the school district, that he would be shortly leaving," said Hooman.

Gonzales sent the complaint letter to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to report what she called "unethical behavior" to the state. In the letter, which was dated in late May, she described an alleged attempt to cover up errors in the first comprehensive financial plan.

She said it, "was submitted with errors that our unions pointed out."

Gonzales also said, "The number of employees was incorrect."

In the letter, Gonzales also claimed, "When I stated in a meeting that we needed to inform OSPI of the error, Dr. Robbins said it would not sit well to show we made an error, and he directed us not to change the numbers."

Gonzales then alleged that he had Cooper explain the error, saying, "He did have Mr. Cooper call Shawn Lewis and say that there were groups of teachers he didn’t include."

"Those numbers, provided by HR, were then revised for the Revised Fiscal Plan and increased by over a hundred staff," she said.

Gonzales also told state officials that HR wasn't handling leaves correctly.

"We are overpaying staff on a regular basis because of misinformation," she said

On May 22nd, Gonzales said that she had a "heated" meeting with Cooper, after reporting problems to the state auditor.

The next day, she said the superintendent told her he would not renew her contract.

"With Lisa being gone, and now following, you know, Alvin Cooper’s departure as well. I think the house of cards is crumbling," said Hooman.

The district sent a letter to staff about Cooper's departure that read:

"The Marysville School District is announcing the departure of Mr. Alvin Cooper, the Executive Director of Human Resources, effective immediately. We understand this news may come as a surprise, as there have been other recent changes within the district, and we appreciate your patience during this time."

"The superintendent and district leaders are committed to maintaining a smooth operation and are currently working on a transition plan for his responsibilities to ensure continued support for the human resources departmental functions and staff."

"Mr. Cooper has been a valuable team member, and we appreciate his contributions during his time here. The district respects his decision and wishes him well in his future endeavors."

Hooman is calling for more transparency as the hiring process begins to fill his position and others.

"Realistically, I’d love to see some changes to policy," said Hooman. "To really address the concerns the community has so this situation doesn’t keep happening to us."

The district did not respond to a request for additional comment Friday evening.

A district spokesperson said last week that an outside investigator will be looking into allegations and comments made by Gonzales. It's unclear if Cooper's departure might impact that investigation.