Let's start by leaving out harsh words such as "lie." It's easier to have a conversation without using that word, which in this case is so inflammatory and which won't do much to clear up this particular controversy.
But it's a conversation that must occur because it's important to building future trust within the school district and the community.
Saturday, the Herald published a piece on a rumor that was circulating throughout Grand Forks. Tipsters told us Superintendent Larry Nybladh had been involved in a heated exchange with an employee and, as a result, would effectively be out of the office until his retirement July 1.
When reached Thursday, Nybladh told the Herald "as far as the rumor that you're hearing that I am taking PTO the rest of the year, that is not true."
Soon thereafter, the Herald was alerted by board members - Nybladh's bosses - that Nybladh's time as superintendent is effectively over and that he is indeed going to be out of the office on paid time off most of the next two months. Board member Meggen Sande said the solution was suggested by Nybladh himself following the verbal confrontation with a school employee. Sande's description of events was corroborated by other board members.
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Yet remember Nybladh told the Herald that the rumor wasn't true, even as other news outlets - specifically KNOX Radio - broke the story.
When we followed back with Nybladh on Saturday to respond to Sande's claim, the superintendent told us this: "I didn't get into the details. I felt I was giving you an honest interpretation of where I was at."
Sande disagrees, and so do we.
Sande said Nybladh and board President Doug Carpenter were dishonest with the Herald. Maybe so. Or maybe they were just coy with their answers or with how we worded the question. Either way, this shouldn't have happened because both must have known the true nature of what we were asking and both chose evasiveness over transparency.
This is a big deal, and Grand Forks should be disappointed.
Why? Because Larry Nybladh works for the board and the board works on behalf of the district's taxpayers. Board members and superintendents would be wise to remember that. When the highest-ranking employee in the district opts to leave his office as a way to avoid board action, the public absolutely and unequivocally needs to know. And if asked, we expect a clear, honest answer.
Luckily, board members - led by Sande - spoke up so this wasn't simply swept under the rug. Thank you, Meggen Sande, for your transparency, even as you admitted you would prefer it didn't get out in the media.
Nybladh was due to retire in a little more than two months anyway, but this evasiveness is the unfortunate, and unnecessary, legacy that remains.
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It didn't have to be this way.
Herald editorial board
