The director of the Kitsap Regional Library (KRL) will resign on the last day of the year. This development comes after KRL’s board of trustees hired a Mill Creek firm to conduct a third-party investigation of staff concerns, and union-represented employees voted No Confidence in the director back in August.
Since May, a Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA) representative has been presenting union members’ concerns with leadership at board of trustees’ meetings. These include a lack of transparency surrounding the termination of the Deputy Director of Public Services; confusion behind the treatment of “Banned Books Week” for the past two years; and concerns about patron and staff safety amid ICE activity in Kitsap.
Requests for transparency, accountability, good faith communication exchanges, and a clear chain of command were made to the board of trustees. The board of trustees has not responded to these requests on its website or the KRL blog.