The Tigard Tualatin School Board will hold a special meeting January 2 at 7pm to accept the resignation of board member Dr. Marvin Lynn. It began with a movement in the Tigard Tualatin School District when it was discovered that Dr. Lynn lives in Colorado as a full-time resident holding a full-time position at the University of Colorado Denver as the Dean of the School of Education and Human Development.

Dr. Lynn ran for the Tigard Tualatin School Board in the May 2021 election, and notified the board in late spring 2022 that he had accepted the position at the University of Colorado Denver. He was appointed Dean effective July 1, 2022 to take over from two interim deans co-leading the prior year. Dr. Lynn identified himself as Dean as early as March 21, 2022 to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education governance board as Secretary.

Dr. Lynn’s term on the school board runs to May of 2025. The opposition said, “Dr. Lynn cannot appropriately perform his board duties within the district for that duration while holding a full-time position in Colorado.” The board received numerous inquiries questioning how Dr. Lynn’s qualifies to continue his position on the board. The Tigard Tualatin community were asking the board to abide by their policy had Dr. Lynn not resigned.

The Tigard Tualatin School District has a policy that states, "The Board shall declare the office of a director vacant upon any of the following:" with item 2 stating, " When an incumbent ceases to be a resident of the district." Number 3 states, “When an incumbent ceases to discharge the duties of office for two consecutive months unless prevented by sickness or unavoidable cause.”

Dr. Lynn is also subject to ORS 332.018 and 332.030, which does not give allowance for a primary residence if the board member lives elsewhere the majority of the time. “No person shall be eligible to serve as director unless the person is an elector of the district and has resided therein for the period of one year immediately preceding the election or appointment.” Moving to Colorado in July means he has not resided [to live in a place@Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary] within Oregon for six months.

Dr. Lynn also holds positions on other Oregon boards that are also subject to ORS 332.018 and 332.030.

• Dr. Lynn holds position #20, a voting position, on the Legislative Policy Committee for the Oregon School Board Association. His term ends December 2023.
• He holds a position on Oregon’s Educator Advancement Council as Director contingent with his being a member on an Oregon school board.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

When asked to resign his position on the Tigard Tualatin School Board, Dr. Lynn initially responded, “My family still lives in Oregon and my children still attend TTSD schools. We still own a home there. I still spend a significant amount of time there. Thank you.”

Ben Kibler, Political Director with Free Oregon said, “It is imperative to hold those in leadership accountable to their own policies as they expect us to respect their positions. Effective action requires everyone's participation.”

The Tigard Tualatin School Board will begin the process of filling Dr. Lynn’s position at the January 2 special meeting.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-12-31 06:32:54

Last Update: 2022-12-30 23:21:18