BUCHANAN — The Buchanan Board of Education and school superintendent are working on rebuilding trust in the community following months of parent and staff complaints.

Recently, the Buchanan Board of Education decided to move forward with the Michigan Association of School Boards to draft a strategic plan for the district. As part of the strategic planning process, the board, as discussed at Monday’s Buchanan Board of Education meeting, will work to conduct a district climate survey that will include evaluation of district support services, and teacher, student and community surveys. Currently, there is no set timeline for the completion of the climate survey.

“The purpose of climate surveys is to set education goals and look at what we can do to achieve those goals,” said Board President Harvey Burnett.

Both Burnett and Superintendent Timothy Donahue believe the survey and strategic plan will help to improve community relations and repair trust following months of concerns raised in public meetings about a lack of district support for teachers, hiring and firing practices, a lack of communication from the board and Donahue’s leadership.

“This will give us a clear picture of our reality so we can make progress on our student achievement,” Donahue said. “The strategic plan survey will [help rebuild trust] because it will be done by people who do academic studies all the time.”

The announcement of the climate survey comes after the Buchanan Education Association, the district’s teacher’s union, and community members requested an anonymous teacher survey to assess the staff’s perception of district climate and Donahue’s leadership. After the board failed to produce a survey by June 30, an independent parent group conducted an anonymous online survey and distributed it to district teachers.

A member of the group, Stacey Dodson Carlin, presented the findings of the survey, which had more than 50 total responses, to the board of education Monday. The results of this survey were not disclosed to the Niles Daily Star.

While Burnett said parents were free to conduct their own survey, the board had concerns about the methodology of that survey.

“If surveys are done incorrectly, they can be used to mislead or just give biased information,” Burnett said. “I’m concerned about how [the parent group] put this together, how it was vetted. Was it based a valid instrument? How did they control for bias? The concern is that.”

The climate survey conducted by the board of education will be using experts at Andrews University as a starting point, Burnett said. This will ensure the survey does not violate the rights of the surveyed, accounts for bias and adequately protects the confidentiality of those surveyed.

“This is something we want to make sure is done correctly,” Burnett said. “We need to make sure there is a reason for the survey, and there is a methodology that protects [the participants]. … We want to include all our stakeholders [in the survey].”

However, for some, this is not enough. BEA representatives expressed both concerns about the timeline and content of the survey.

“They are talking about looking at things very important for goals setting and student achievement, but that has nothing to do with the survey we requested, which was about culture and working conditions,” said Wendy Murphy, president of the BEA. “They are totally different things.”

Additionally, Murphy said the board still had work to do in addressing the concerns of teachers and community members that have been raised at previous meetings. In a letter sent to the board Thursday, the BEA said actions by the board and the superintendent made teachers feel devalued, that there was a culture of mistrust in the district and doubtful of Donahue’s leadership.

The letter, signed by the BEA, said staff members had expressed instances in which Donahue exhibited a lack of collaboration, ineffective communication, and unwillingness to put students first, and devaluing district employees. Further, the letter alleged that when staff members have spoken to Donahue about concerns, his tone was dismissive and no resolution was reached.

“The perception of the staff is that there is a hostile work environment,” Murphy said Monday evening. “[The board] needs to acknowledge that there are concerns that need to be addressed.”

Concerns about a lack of communication were also heightened by the decision of the board to restrict public comments to one minute per person at Monday’s meeting, a board policy that has not been enforced for several meetings.

“This is not helping to bridge the animosity,” Murphy said.

Burnett said the decision to enforce the board policy of one-minute public comments stemmed from a desire to keep meetings in order and on time, as interest in meetings has grown.

“We have been lax in the past by allowing people to speak over their time and answering questions [raised during public comment],” Burnett said. “By doing that, it was just adding fuel to the fire.”

Despite accusations about district climate, board members said they have yet to receive a formal complaint from a staff member, though a complaint was submitted to the board by a parent Monday evening.

Donahue said if any staff member came to him with a specific complaint, he would address it appropriately.

“We need to have a dialo. That is becoming more and more apparent. … Having a sit-down conversation and meeting with the board and meeting with myself will be key,” he said. “I have been extending those invitations, but they are not being accepted.”

Going forward, Burnett said he hopes to see the community, staff and the board of education come together to address concerns and improve education in Buchanan.

“We have to be able to sit down and have a discussion about the concerns and come to a resolution,” Burnett said. “The question is whether or not we can be able to do that and step back from all of the emotion that is driving everything. … I believe we can. We need to be able to move forward and focus on the task at hand, which is improving our district.”