What began as a regularly scheduled meeting of the Central Kitsap School Board quickly transformed into a two hour closed session after two board members expressed discontent with Superintendent Greg Lynch, issues of communication and district finances.

The evening meeting on June 20 took a turn when board member Christy Cathcart began questioning Superintendent Greg Lynch on the timeline involved in receiving information on the district’s loss of funding from Heavy Impact Aid.

Cathcart drew a timeline from a series of internal school board emails and said she had not been made aware of the loss of the funding in a timely manner.

Cathcart questioned transparency of communication within the board and with the superintendent.

“I want to know what you knew and when you knew it,” she said.

The loss of federal funding was citied by district leaders as the primary cause of the huge budget shortfall that is likely to result in cuts to education in 2013 and beyond.

Lynch disputed Cathcart’s claim, but said he would look into the matter further.

In the wake of Cathcart’s statements, board member Eric Greene also conveyed concern over the issue and cited a 77-day delay in receiving information about the denied grant application.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the dispute escalated and the board abruptly called a series of closed session meetings that lasted more than two hours.

After the closed sessions, the board returned and board president Chris Stokke read a prepared statement expressing confidence in Lynch, school administration and staff.

“The school board is committed to support the superintendent, administration and staff in order to preserve the high quality of education provided to the students of our school district,” he read.

The board then proceeded to address a truncated agenda including a handful of grant items and then adjourned the meeting.

After the meeting, Lynch discussed the issues leading to the closed session and said the district’s current financial woes exacerbated emotions within the board and caused stress within the district.

“That in of itself sets up a condition for organizational stress,” he said. “And I believe what we have seen is a byproduct of those conditions.”

The closed sessions and board members’ concerns about communications came on the heels of a June 7 vote of “no confidence” in Lynch by the Central Kitsap Education Association.

Kirstin Nicholson, president of the CKEA, said the vote of no confidence expressed the concerns of members. There were many in the association who felt they had no voice in matters concerning education in the district. Members of CKEA want fewer top-down decisions and a larger role in the process, she said.

“Our member’s vote of no confidence came after careful consideration,” she said. “It is a public statement that the relationship between the association and our school district is not where we want it to be.”

A special session of the board was held June 27 with agenda items including complaints against one or more public employees, and to review their performance.

Despite the vote of no confidence, both Lynch and Nicholson have expressed their willingness to address concerns of communications within the district.

Lynch said he was willing to address any issues to work to create the best learning environment for students.

“I believe, like any large, complex organization, we are not perfect. I don’t expect everything to go right 100 percent of the time,” he said. “What I do expect is that when things don’t go right, we take a look at why, and we take appropriate action.”

Nicholson and members of the CKEA are willing to address issues within the district and find a means of ensuring the best education for the students involved.

“We want to move forward and work together to build another relationship which will work better for the students,” she said.