JEWELL One year ago, a power outage blacked out a tense June 13 Jewell School Board executive session involving the future of Brian Gander, who had been the superintendent and principal the previous three school years. The schools generators flicked the power back on and the school board emerged into the regular board meeting with the resignation of Gander and the end of an era at hand.

After a tumultuous year including three interim superintendents and principals, Jewell enters this summer with a new permanent, part-time superintendent, Alice Hunsaker. She will hire a new principal as early as today, with the hope of moving the wealthy yet troubled district toward a sense of normalcy.

Its my intention to be here for a few years, said Hunsaker. I dont think you can impact an organization overnight. I think it takes a commitment. For me, the key things Ill be focusing on first iare building relationships with the staff, teachers, students and parents.

Hunsaker spent the last three years as superintendent, school improvement director and special education director of Lake County Education Service District, which she is still helping find a replacement. A district similar to Jewell in many ways the bighorn sheep replacing the elk it spans the third largest county in Oregon with a sparse one-person-per-square-mile density.

Personally, Im excited, because I can focus on big  picture issues of the district, said Hunsaker. Being a building principal is a big challenge; the intricacies make it difficult to focus on the big picture.

I think its going to be important to create consistency with the financial picture here, added Hunsaker, who bills herself as an advocate for small school districts with experience in unique funding structures like Jewells, which depends greatly on timber revenue.

You can get wrapped up in what the boards doing and not focus enough on the staff, said former Astoria High School Principal Larry Lockett, the interim superintendent and principal at Jewell School, about the separation of the two positions.

Lockett, who retired last year after more than a decade as principal at AHS, sat down with former Knappa Superintendent Jim Carlile, who stepped in the first half of this year as the principal and superintendent.

He said the change will be good for the next five to six years, until the district gains some regularity, adding that he could see the dual position coming back.

Jewell needed some support, said Lockett, who started at Jewell last winter. Jim could not be there the second half of the year. They didnt need to change principals every two weeks.

After about nine months of retirement, Lockett stepped in and quickly gained popularity at Jewell School, students and staff eventually imploring him to stay on.

Right now, the environment in this school is pretty healthy, he said, adding that he enjoyed seeing the older with students helping those younger and the hard-working and caring staff. By the time I took over in January, the friction was starting to go away.

Heading back into retirement, Locketts made an offer on at least one sailing vessel and plans to spend some time in the San Juan Islands and with his grandchildren.

Jewell needs a people person

During Jewells recent graduation, Lockett, whod taken the seniors on Deschutes River rafting trips he used to do at AHS, broke into a recreation of The Harlem Shake dance routine with his students on screen in front of a packed auditorium. Locketts joviality struck 17-year-old junior Ryan Harhart as what Gander missed.

His resume looked good, but when it came down to him being a people person, he just wasnt, said Harhart, who this time around helped screen principal candidates along with other students. Someone would call him Mr. Gander, and hed be like, (Dont you mean) Dr. Gander? He was kind of stubborn.

Harhart and other juniors said Gander, who replaced Jerry Jones in July 2009, wasnt very approachable, and the indifference even led to rebellion, with students dropping his doctor title, calling him Brian and even pranking him on occasion.

Gander, you didnt really see his face too much around the hallway, and when you did it wasnt a smile, said Harhart, adding that Lockett and Carlile were both energetic and more approachable.

The disdain with Gander spread more seriously to staff members, who in September 2011 filed a grievance against Gander and what they deemed a hostile, uncommunicative work environment. Thus started a protracted standoff between teachers and Gander, who had to employ a facilitator Carlile to keep the two sides working toward a resolution.

But it was Ganders resignation and subsequent separation agreement, brokered by interim superintendent James Sager of the Northwest Regional Education Service District, that provided the final resolution. In exchange for leaving the district quietly, Gander received a settlement of $55,000, a $3,000 housing stipend, Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) contribution of $14,014 medical benefits until Sept. 30 or until he regains employment with another district.

Clare Reams, a 17-year-old junior who transferred in last year from Hillsboro, said the district needs to create more continuity in it administration and its academics. It also needs better sex and drug education, she added, to preempt student behavior.

But Brooklyn Gnuschke, a 17-year-old junior, said things have settled down greatly since last year.

I really dont think it works that well, having strict people around you all the time, she said. Especially if you have a rough household, then schools kind of the place you can learn and have fun. I think its really important for our administration and our teachers to have fun with us.