Dubuque School Board moves ahead on process of firing superintendent

The Dubuque School Board has taken the first step to fire the district's superintendent.

The board unanimously voted Monday night to begin taking that action against Superintendent Larie Godinez.

Board members say school staff has a "loss of confidence" in Dr. Godinez, who has been superintendent in Dubuque since 2009.

Her contract is set to expire in 2014.

The "yes" vote does not mean Godinez will be fired; it's simply the board agreeing to get that process started.

The motion approved by the board reads as follows: "To terminate Larie Godinez's contract for just cause, due to loss of confidence in the superintendent by staff and failure to lead effectively."

Board member Tom Barton says a major reason for his vote has to do with Godinez' recent decision to outsource the district's information technology department.

"We are talking about citizen money getting spent and we are talking about people potentially having their jobs reconfigured or lost," Barton said.

The board also recently discovered a $130,000 IT purchase hasn't worked for more than a year.

"Personally I haven't been able to tell where the buck stops," Barton said. "I don't know if it's the Dell computer consultant. Is it the previous IT director or the current interim IT director? Is it the superintendent?  I don't know."

School board President Craig Beytien says they're also looking into other administrative allegations against Godinez.

'There are other issues," Beytien said, "but I am not at liberty to discuss them here for obvious reasons. "

Godinez now has five days to request a hearing about the allegations with either the school board or an administrative law judge. But ultimately, the decision whether to terminate her contract is up to the school board.

Godinez said she will not make any comment until her attorney recommends she do so.