LAKEWOOD — When The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times received an anonymous letter from those identifying themselves only as taxpayers in the Lakewood School District, superintendent Michael Mack agreed to sit down with us and address their expressed concerns.

Mack reported that he’d recently met with county officials about the conditional use permit for the new high school, and the only concerns they’d expressed to him involved the relocation of a sign currently visible from the road, a berm that Mack would like to get rid of, and a wetland area that Mack assured the county that the district has no plans to build within.

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re in a wonderful spot,” Mack said, as he took issue with the letter’s criticism that construction of the new high school has been delayed. “Compared to our original plans, which would have remodeled the existing building instead, we’re actually six months ahead.”

While the letter alleged that Mack had not submitted documentation on time, Mack noted that he’s not in charge of submitting such documents at all, since that falls under the purview of project manager Laura Brent, who was hired by the school board more than a year ago, before he became superintendent.

“The board interviewed three companies about managing the project,” Mack said. “Hers had already done work on it and was the least expensive.”

The letter also objected to Mack receiving a 3 percent raise, a doctoral stipend and a construction stipend, asking why both Brent and Mack should be paid for the same project. Mack explained that the 3 percent raise was across the board for administrative staff, “and I hope the teachers get it too,” while the doctoral stipend is standard for any district employee with a doctorate.

As for the construction stipend, while Brent is the project manager, Mack has become the district’s facilities manager, a position he hadn’t expected to assume when he was hired.

“Before, the facilities manager was Fred Owyen, and when he left, we retained someone else,” Mack said. “He was still growing into the job, so I was handling a lot of it myself, but he was getting better. Except then he got another job, which was better for him and closer to his home in Monroe. So rather than hiring another person, they just decided to pay me the stipend, since I had the experience.”

Mack further specified that the construction stipend is coming from the bond, rather than from the district, so he won’t receive any more money on that score after construction is complete.

“Without someone in that position, there would be no one from the district to meet with the county about things like the conditional use permit,” Mack said. “That’d be like hiring someone to build your house, but never meeting with them to tell them where you want everything to be built.”

For Mack, taking over Owyen’s former position has also meant making hard choices about how to deliver on all the promises the district made to taxpayers about the new high school, while dealing with construction costs that have undergone a far sharper inflation curve than anticipated.

“We’re not going to overspend or be fluffy, but we remain committed to providing this community with an academic environment that will be second to none,” Mack said.

The letter also charged Mack with telling staff to use district money to purchase personal gifts for district employees, as well as retirement and going-away presents for staff.

“I don’t know anything about that,” Mack said. “Did we give them, like a Starbucks card and a stuffed teddy bear? I don’t know.”

Mack likewise denied that he and any board members were “drinking buddies,” as described in the letter, and expressed dismay that none of these objections had been brought to him or the board through other channels.