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Tuesday, March 22, 2005
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Large crowd, no discussion School board reschedules public part of meeting Associate Editor IRONTON -- Crosby-Ironton School District residents who jammed into the Ironton City Hall to talk about the 42-day-old teachers' strike were disappointed Monday night when the C-I School Board decided to reschedule the public part of the meeting for a later date at a site that could accommodate more people.
With about 50 people crammed into the Ironton City Hall and several more outside the doors, the school board voted 5-1 to reschedule the public portion of the meeting for a time and site to be announced later.
The school board's published agenda listed the closed session to discuss negotiations strategy with its attorney as the primary purpose of the meeting. School Board chair Scott Kile, hearing that many people planned to attend the meeting, said Monday afternoon he intended to start the meeting with approximately an hour of comments from the audience.
At the outset of the meeting, a motion and second to hear comments from the public was withdrawn after school board member Michael Domin suggested the public comments be rescheduled because many of the people who wanted to be in the meeting could not get in the door and many of those who were inside could not be seated.
Kile said he considering opening part of the meeting after he heard that a number of people were planning to attend the open portion of the school board meeting.
Robert Sandin said the session for public comments should be scheduled as soon as possible.
"I just feel we don't have an opportunity to hear what everyone has to say," he said, referring to Monday's crowded meeting.
A motion to reschedule the public comments passed 5-1 with Kile casting the dissenting vote. The school board meeting, which had been open about eight minutes, was then closed by board vote.
Members of the crowd groaned when the motion to reschedule was made. After the decision was made to close the meeting, a woman in the audience called out to the school board, "There's a lot to be said."
After the crowd slowly filed out, Duane Roberts, a Pelican Lake resident, said the meeting didn't accomplish much. He said his reason for going to the meeting was to listen.
Bob Carls of Bay Lake Township said he didn't think board members were exerting any leadership and were letting the superintendent run rampant.
"The board isn't really serious about negotiating," he said.
Tim Bill, a senior at Crosby-Ironton High School who wore a button to indicate his support for the teachers' union, said his college credits were dependent on getting back to school. He referred to the classes conducted by replacement teachers as "graded baby-sitting." He said he was only attending his choir class, where he is an officer.
"They're a joke," he said of the replacement teachers.
John Davis, a school board member from 1993-2001, spoke of the divisions the strike has caused.
"It's tearing this community apart," he said.
Earlier Monday Superintendent Linda Lawrie said school was going very well.
She said she hopes to see sixth-grade students return to school this week and sophomores return next week.
Currently, grades that are attending school are kindergarten-fifth grade, and juniors and seniors. Lawrie said she was not sure when the seventh- through ninth-graders would return.
She also said she hopes that spring sports practice begins this week for softball, baseball, boys' and girls' golf, and boys' and girls' track.
MIKE O'ROURKE can be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
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