Big shakeup as Pasco School Board picks 1 candidate and another on the board resigns
Rosa Torres was about to be picked to fill a vacancy on the Pasco School Board on Tuesday night when there was another shakeup.
Board president Scott Lehrman announced he plans to resign March 1 so that his wife, who is currently a substitute teacher, can take a permanent position with the district and he wants to avoid a conflict of interest.
Déjà vu?
It’s the same reason another board member, Steve Simmons, gave for resigning a couple months ago — in fact, the board was in the middle of choosing his replacement when Lehrman brought up his own issue.
“This is an interesting situation,” Lehrman said after five hours of candidate interviews and an executive session.
“Mr. Simmons had to resign due to his wife being employed by the district. I guess, what I want to say, is that my wife is currently long-term subbing in the district. It’s not a conflict of interest at this point, but she would like to have the opportunity to take a position within the district, obtained without any influence by me. So, I plan on resigning from the board myself,” he said.
Lehrman said he’ll likely reapply to fill the vacancy he’s creating, which is what Simmons did.
Lehrman has served on the school board since 2013 and his seat is up for reelection in November.
“It’s a tough situation to have. It’s kind of unprecedented to have a board turn over 4 board members within a couple months,” he told the Tri-City Herald.
Lehrman said his wife, Kim Lehrman, taught full-time between 2000 and 2012.
“This community is where her passions lie, and I didn’t want to stand in the way of her getting the job. But I still have passion to the Pasco School District and Pasco people, as well,” he said.
Under state law and school district policy, school board members cannot benefit either financially or otherwise from any contract that comes before the board.
That includes the ratification of an contract to employ the spouse of a school board member.
But an exception is allowed if the spouse already had a contract before the elected official took office.
Simmons’ wife was hired in November as a food service worker, so he resigned and reapplied for his at-large seat.
He abstained from voting on Simmons’ replacement.
New school board member
The rest of the board voted 3-0 to appoint Rosa Torres to serve on the board until the next election in November. She will have to run for re-election then if she wants to keep the seat.
She and Simmons were among eight candidates who applied and were interviewed Tuesday night. The board then met in a closed-door session to discuss their qualifications before returning to the open meeting to vote.
She will be the only Latino member of the board in a district with a student population that’s 73% Hispanic.
Torres, who grew up in Pasco, is a finance manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. A University of Notre Dame graduate, Torres also has worked for Starbucks and Microsoft.
“I think, for me, this is really close to my heart because education was basically the game changer in my life,” she said in her interview. “I’m the daughter of immigrants and so education was my gateway to having a better life. My parents were always big on not having the same life that they had to endure.... I was just very lucky to have great teachers when I was in school, people who believed in me.”
The board received 16 applications for the at-large position and interviewed eight.
“She had a very impressive interview. She seems very dedicated to our community and our children,” said board Vice Chairwoman Amy Phillips, adding later: “She came from a family of immigrants and was just able to really be very successful in life, and she’s committed to giving back to her community.”
Phillips said it was important for the board to have Hispanic representation, as well as someone who can serve as a role model to impressionable youths.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 10:19 PM.
