Creationism, Youngstown board policy, meeting conduct spurs board arguments
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Tuesday’s city school board meeting was shorter than those of the recent past but no less lively.
An added feature was the board president muttering a profanity under her breath about another member.
The back and forth on the dais inside the West Wood Street administration building started toward the end of the session and focused on board reports.
Brenda Kimble, board president, told her colleagues that any questions they have about another member’s committee reports should be posed to that member after the meeting.
“If we have questions about what other board members report, they should be asked outside of the eyes and ears of the public?” Jackie Adair, board member, asked.
“Yes,” Kimble said.
Reports are for the community so people know what board members are working, Kimble said.
“The meetings are being held up with things that are unnecessary and excessive,” she said.
How does Adair know that the community wants to hear the answers to her questions? Kimble asked.
At the board’s work session last week, the board voted to limit the regular board meetings to two hours. Meetings in recent weeks have stretched to three hours or more.
Jerome Williams, board member, said the seven members should be working together to advance the district, but certain members are trying to get headlines and make the board look bad.
That makes it appear the panel doesn’t care about the kids, he said.
“That’s not good for anything other than one person’s agenda,” Williams said.
Under board reports at most meetings, the majority of members give brief or no reports. Adair, who handles board policies, is the exception.
Ronald Shadd, over the curriculum committee; Michael Murphy, head of finance and extracurricular committees; and Corrine Sanderson, personnel committee chairwoman, each delivered a report.
Shadd said the district is examining its curriculum after a Daily Beast article pointed out that a video, produced by a Holocaust denier and purported leader of an Islamic sex cult, spouts creationism and is included in the district’s 10th-grade biology curriculum.
“We’re currently looking at this piece with a scalpel,” Shadd said.
Shadd’s report followed an attempt by board member Dario Hunter to include a resolution on the agenda that would place a moratorium on all instruction in intelligent design. Hunter’s motion to add it to the agenda failed. A similar motion suggested by Hunter at the May 24 meeting also failed.
He said the video was removed from the curriculum without board approval, and Shadd directed the executive director of teaching and learning to remove it.
Shadd said he wanted to correct information erroneously reported by Hunter.
Adair then argued that Shadd’s comments were out of order, saying Shadd was delivering a one-sided monologue.
Shadd said he was responding to Hunter’s one-sided comments at the start of the meeting.
Kimble tried to curtail the argument, saying she wanted to move on.
Adair didn’t approve.
“Under Robert’s Rules of Order, no one person can limit discussion or debate,” she said.
Kimble said it’s a committee report, not a debate.
When it was time for Adair’s report, Kimble tried to tell Adair to limit her comments.
“I don’t need you to tell me what my report should be,” Adair countered.
At one point, Kimble muttered “b----” under her breath during her verbal sparring with Adair.
As Adair began to give her policy committee report, talking about issues she wants to explore, Kimble asked if Adair had first brought those matters to the superintendent.
“Before any information comes to any meeting, it has to come through the superintendent,” Kimble said. That’s according to board policy, she added.
Hunter asked which policy, and Kimble said she didn’t have that information.
Adair piped up again.
“Other board members, the information you presented [in board reports], did it have to come through the superintendent or is it just me who has to do it?” she queried.