During board comments at the end of the May 13 Oxford School Board meeting, Trustee Joyce Brasington made it clear she would still like to discuss some of the recent issues that have arisen over the past couple months.
‘I went through some of the board policies over the last couple weeks and I’m still reflecting on the board’s actions with the (former Chief Operations Officer) Pam Anstey contract and the Fred Shuback (resignation) letter,? Brasington said.
She referenced board bylaw 0143, which states, ‘A member of the Board shall have access to documents or information to which s/he is legally entitled and which are required in the performance of his/her duties as a Board member.?
‘I just think that’s really important, to me, that we have access, that we get the information, so we can make the right decision,? she added.
Brasington also pointed out that under bylaw 0164.2, special meetings may be called by the president or any two board members.
‘I think of a couple cases within the last couple weeks where we’ve had reason to have a special meeting,? she said. ‘We’ve had at least three board members express we should have a special meeting to discuss some issues and I think through our own policies and bylaws we should hold a special meeting.?
Brasington made a request for a special meeting, along with Trustees Kim Shumaker and Mike Schweig, of Board President Jim Reis after the Shuback letter was made known to the board via e-mail on April 24. However, Reis was quoted in the May 6 edition of the Oxford Leader that he didn’t ‘see a need for it.?
Shumaker agreed a discussion still needs to happen.
‘If we discuss things, it helps us all understand and have (the) same information at the same time,? she said. ‘And then we can (let) the public know that we do care about the issues that they’re concerned about.?
‘I concur. I think there are some concerns we could address,? Schweig added. ‘I think that would make us a stronger board if we were able to do discuss those and bring it out more in the open and come to a conclusion that we all can agree on.?
Schweig wants the board to ‘talk about the difficult things,? so it can ‘move forward.?
‘We’re in a position now where we have a new superintendent who will be taking us in a new direction and I think we’re working in a proper format to make these things happen,? he noted.
Reis said he ‘couldn’t agree more.?
‘We need to talk about things more,? he said. ‘We need to get some things discussed.?
Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
Superintendent Tim Throne believes ‘the district has the potential to be great,? but it ‘starts with the board.?
In his view, how well the school board functions as a whole can only be determined by its members.
‘It won’t matter who you have as your superintendent. It won’t matter how good your financial statements are. It won’t matter how much input you get from the community. It starts with this board,? Throne said.
‘I’m not telling you one week into this job, how to do things, how to work things out or how to discuss things. That’s not necessarily my role,? he continued. ‘What I am saying is that whatever rules that you as a team decide to abide by, you need to abide by them. If you don’t have rules then don’t worry about abiding by anything.?