Leadership matters

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, October 12, 2022

This week, The Beachcomber has tackled a number of important stories, including one about VashonHold’s efforts to address a growing affordable housing crisis that impacts every aspect of our lives on Vashon.

Our ongoing coverage of Vashon Health Care District and its negotiations with Sea Mar Community Health Centers also continues, with the news that the district is now looking for a new superintendent.

Eric Jensen has served the district well in his tumultuous time in the post, and we’re sorry to see him go, especially given the timing of his departure.

But it is heartening to hear that a local hero — Tim Johnson, who has long been involved in healthcare issues on the island and has ably managed the charitable enterprise of Granny’s Attic, has offered to step into the superintendent role on an interim basis.

Now more than ever, we need someone who understands the long and recently tumultuous history of healthcare on our island and can bring connections and passion to the job of helping VHCD commissioners manage the district’s operations.

Johnson fits that bill.

We were also heartened to see VHCD commissioners out and about last week, holding “office hours” in well-trafficked locations and talking to the islanders they represent — a practice they say they hope to regularly continue.

Sea Mar Community Health Care executives, in the meantime, told The Beachcomber, via a draft of a newspaper commentary that they have now decided to put on hold for the time being, that they, too, have “an open door” to learn how Sea Mar can best serve Vashon, and would welcome feedback and input from islanders.

We hope that openness will soon take the form of some kind of actual public process, where the executives will also meet and speak directly with the community that Sea Mar serves.

The importance of leadership is also evident in our article this week about Vashon Island School District’s (VISD) plans to put a $19.5 million bond before voters next February to make critical updates to district facilities.

There is no doubt that the aim of the bond — to upgrade and improve aging district infrastructure — is worthy. The buildings where our children go to school should be up-to-date, free of asbestos, accessible to all, and safe.

But right now, we’re concerned about how the district will implement these construction projects if the costly bond passes.

Capital bond programs present management challenges far beyond the typical daily business of a school district, requiring highly skilled and experienced managers to ensure compliance with state fiscal requirements, state construction requirements, bidding requirements, and more.

Experienced managers know how to avoid poor bids, costly change orders and litigation, and also ensure the best construction value for the taxpayer dollar.

VISD’s 2017 $10 million bond was managed by former VISD financial chief Matt Sullivan, in a tight partnership with Brandy Fox, the district’s longtime owner’s representative who has recently announced she will soon leave the district.

Sullivan resigned from his position at VISD in August, in order to accept a top job at Mercer Island School District, and his position at VISD has not been replaced.

The expertise of Sullivan and Fox provided the highest level of management excellence and yielded outstanding results for our district.

It certainly should be a high priority of the district to recruit new managers with similar expertise to fill these crucial positions as soon as possible, and we hope the Vashon school board will strongly urge Superintendent Slade McSheehy to move up his timetable to hire Fox’s replacement, in particular.

This week, McSheehy told The Beachcomber that the process to replace Fox will start in December — a busy month that includes a long holiday break. That’s too late to start looking for a project manager who needs to hit the ground running if the bond passes in February of 2023.

Preparation and expertise matter now more than ever, as construction would need to start that summer, amidst a volatile economy that will likely include continued high inflation.

Leadership matters, and needs to be in place for the bond project sooner, rather than later.