our view

Transparency, oddly enough, is a relatively easy thing to see. We can tell — or, at least, we hope we can tell — when someone is giving us the whole story. We can sift through the carefully chosen words in a statement by a public official to get a sense of what might be going on behind the scenes.

In the case of the Medford School District’s hiring of Jonathan Lyons to be the next principal at South Medford High School, however, it’s the lack of transparency that has caught the eye of teachers, staff members, parents and the public at large.

Why weren’t Medford school officials up front immediately, we find ourselves asking, about the reasons behind Lyons’ forced departure from Carmel High School in California? Why were those involved in the hiring process convinced that his handling of a possible sexual harassment case between students shouldn’t disqualify him?

And, as always is the case when stories such as this take on a life of their own, is there anything else they aren’t telling us?

For the sake of everyone with a stake in South Medford High School, we hope not.

How much of an issue should this be? Is it a mountain or a mole hill?

Employees were called into a last-minute meeting Friday with Superintendent Bret Champion, after dozens signed a letter wanting answers and some clarity into the decision to hire Lyons.

Champion spent two hours that day addressing the situation, which appeared to calm the waters somewhat for those who will be working under Lyons.

The meeting came a couple of days after the superintendent’s office sent an email to the staff saying, “We wanted you to be aware that there are some rumors floating around based on media reports that Jon was let go from his position as principal at Carmel High School.”

And here’s where the messaging gets murky. These weren’t “rumors.”

A heavily-redacted, four-page report posted to the Carmel School District website offers details of a legal investigation that did indeed lead to Lyons being removed from his job.

The “media reports” by the Monterey Herald newspaper provided more specifics — which the Rogue Valley Times picked up — about the case, because that information wasn’t mentioned in the Medford schools’ statement.

The incident involved one male student making an offensive remark to another, and questions about whether Lyons followed proper procedures in handling the situation — including allegedly saying during a staff meeting that the matter was a case of “(redacted) boys acting like (redacted) boys.”

The Herald reported that Lyons denied making the statement. According to the report on the Carmel website, however, Lyons told investigators that it was possible he had said it.

Then on Tuesday, Lyons emailed the Times in a response to our coverage of his hiring and directly addressed the quote in question:

“Regarding the report by the attorneys for the Carmel School District, I did not say ‘boys will be boys.’ Instead, I said the comments issued by one of the students could be characterized as ‘sophomoric boy b.s.’

“My comment was made to administrators in a closed meeting, not to students and not in reference to the student himself. I apologize for any hurt this language may have caused.”

While he added that the student verbally accosted did receive counseling and support from other school personnel, Lyons’ statement comes across as an attempt to minimize the damage while demonstrating an unclear grasp of why the issue has reached this point.

Does it matter to whom he made his comments? Those who heard it were upset enough to bring it to the attention of supervisors. Saying he’s sorry if anyone was hurt by his language isn’t the same as saying he’s sorry he said it, or that he now understands the potential gravity of the student’s hurtful remark.

And, frankly, what beyond semantics is the difference between “sophomoric boy b.s.” and “(redacted) boys acting like (redacted) boys”?

Again, transparency.

The letter from South Medford employees that led to Friday’s meeting phrased the matter succinctly:

“(B)eing a principal in a large high school is demanding and difficult,” the letter stated. “One who begins his tenure with the background of being released from his previous administrative position, in a very public way, has an even greater challenge.

“Why would we intentionally bring this drama into our school community?”

Champion and Lyons each invoked the word “grace” last week — though both addressed that ideal toward those who might judge the principal based on a singular moment in a lifetime of professional experience.

“One event in a career,” Lyons said. I’m hoping people will find a little grace.”

And, perhaps, Lyons is owed that. None of us — even those who have flooded social media with opinions — is without professional or personal moments that we’d like to move past.

Then again, few of us are expected to set the tone and act as an example for the teachers, staff and 1,750 students at South Medford High School.

Is there more here than meets the eye, or not? Are we looking at a mountain or a mole hill? The district school board clearly believes the latter, voting unanimously to hire Lyons.

For all involved, let’s hope they’re right.