On February 11th, I sat in on the school board meeting. About 3 hours into it a “very serious accusation” [to quote board member Jennifer White] was made against Sue Hier, Board of Education president.

As the majority of board members, supporters of Mrs. Hier, scrambled to react and table the discussion as quickly as possible… it was agreed to with the minority group of board members [The board is split fiercely 4-3] that the issue would be first on the agenda for the next meeting. This was quoted in two local newspapers and broadcast on Channel 6. And the 50 or so people in attendance all heard it clearly stated… it will be on the top of the agenda for the next meeting.

The boards agenda for the February 25th meeting was released last night. The accusation against Mrs. Hier was buried. You’ll find it as the last item on item 10 on the agenda.

Note: On February 25th a new agenda was put out. This is still item 10 but moved from 10g to 10a.

X. Old Business
A. Budget Presentation
B. 360 Superintendent Evaluation
C. Community Survey
D. Recording and Web Posting of Subcommittee Minutes
E. Board President/Spokesperson for Board
F. Communication (Policy 2415)
G. Accusations against Board Member

So, if on February 11th it was agreed that this would be “at the top of the agenda for the next board meeting” someone didn’t tell the truth. Who set this agenda? If it is “a very serious accusation” and it is “on the top of the agenda for the next meeting” than that isn’t coming through.

I’ve heard that pro-Hier folks plan to do something I don’t have a label for other than “small town politics.” They plan on attending the meeting in force. Scary! Meanwhile, all those supporting Mrs. Lerchen are asked to wear read. This is starting to remind me of a scene from Napoleon Dynamite. What’s next… buttons?

The point here isn’t about the people coming to support Mrs. Hier. It is about the politics of moving this agenda item to the bottom. The people of this community need to know if these accusations are true and they need to know that it is a serious matter to be dealt with immediately. The plan by the majority seems to be to table it indefinitely. This will force the hand of the accuser to take these accusations to the next level… which will cost the district a lot of time & money.

I hope that the agenda changes. I hope that the elected people of this community would put into action what they said they would do on February 11th. Make this heated, distracting, embarrassing issue on the top of the agenda as promised.

I’m not trying to stir the pot here. My goal in talking about this is simply to ask people to live up to their word. As I mentioned before, I’d simply like to see the district do an investigation before taking any action. If they were to do that right up front, they could then focus on the business of the district.

• February 26, 2008 -- Quick notes from the Romeo School Board Meeting (0)
• June 3, 2008 -- Truth is offensive (1)
• April 14, 2008 -- Mark Twain on School Boards (0)
• March 5, 2008 -- Solutions for Snow Days? (4)
• February 13, 2008 -- Should Sue Hier Step Down? (0)

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