The Anchorage School Board on Tuesday approved a one-year contract extension of Superintendent Jarrett Bryantt. The item was initially put on the “consent agenda,” so that it would automatically be swept through in a batch approval with a dozen other routine items, and a separate vote would not be required.
A consent agenda is a meeting tool used to streamline meetings by collecting routine, non-controversial items into a group, and all are passed with a single vote. Anything that is non-routine goes on the regular agenda.
Board President Margo Bellamy sets the agenda and would have had to know that she buried the controversial superintendent’s contract extension in a place on the agenda where the public would not be provided the opportunity to comment.
Board member Dave Donley asked that the item be pulled from the consent agenda and place on the regular agenda so members would at least have to vote on the contract extension.
Bryantt’s current contract doesn’t expire until June 30, 2025 — a year and a half from now. Why was the board in such a hurry to extend his contract?