In spite of more than 100 community members and Superintendent Christy Perry pushing for Sheronne Blasi to be chairwoman of the Salem-Keizer School Board, Satya Chandragiri was elected the new chairman during a board vote Wednesday.
Danielle Bethell was elected vice chairwoman.
Both Chandragiri, who represents zone 4 in south Salem, and Bethell, who represents zone 6 in Keizer, were elected to the board in 2019. Directors of the seven-member board serve four-year terms.
Bethell is also the Republican candidate for Marion County Commission position three in November's general election, running against Democrat Ashley Carson. If elected to the commission, Bethell would be allowed to serve on both governing bodies, but would have to abstain from some votes due to conflicts of interest.
Chandragiri won Wednesday with four votes in his favor, compared to three for Blasi.
Paul Kyllo, Chandragiri, Bethell and Marty Heyen voted for Chandragiri; Kathy Goss, Blasi and Jesse Lippold voted for Blasi.
For vice chair, Bethell won with four votes from Chandragiri, Heyen, Kyllo and herself. Goss and Blasi voted for Goss. Lippold voted for Blasi.
Superintendent Perry voiced her support for Blasi as chairwoman in the last board meeting, saying Blasi is "one of the few leaders who have at least the embers of trust from our communities of color."
The school board represents the more than 42,000 students in Salem-Keizer Public Schools.
Of these students, 70% are considered to be economically disadvantaged, 16% access special education services and 52% identify as a race or ethnicity other than white.
The largest racial minority groups include Hispanic/Latino students, who make up 40% of the district's enrollment, and multiracial students who account for 5%.
The school board has been called out several times in recent years for not reflecting the racial demographics of the community it serves.
Vote happens during push back
The school board has received push back as some community members call for the resignation of two of its members.
Kyllo is being called out for an inappropriate, racial act during the March 30 meeting, which he has apologized for since. Allegations have surfaced claiming former chairwoman Heyen has ties to white supremacy and hate groups.
Petitions have circulated and now have several thousands of signatures. However, Wednesday's leadership selection is an annual vote and was not done in response to the call for Heyen or Kyllo to step down.
Petition grows:For Marty Heyen, Paul Kyllo to resign from the Salem-Keizer board
Starting Wednesday's meeting, Heyen spoke briefly about her year as board chair and addressed some of the recent claims made against her.
"I think my biggest character flaw is to trust people, even when they have proven to be untrustworthy," she said. "I have many things I want to say today, but I will not do to another person what has been done to me.
"I am not defined by a picture and I am not defined by the coordinated character assassination that I and my family, including my son, have had to endure," she said.
"For those of you out there trying to destroy me, I forgive you."
(Story continues below)
Hundreds submit testimony, few heard
The board listened to about 30 minutes of testimony Wednesday from a dozen individuals. Heyen said they set that time limit because some of the members of the board could not stay on longer with the meeting held in the middle of a work day.
But district officials said 370 people signed up for or submitted testimony.
Of the testimony submitted:
- 130 emails supported Blasi as chair; of those, 27 were also against Lippold as chair.
- 15 email were against Lippold as chair
- Five email were against Heyen as chair
- One email supports Chandragiri for chair and Blasi for vice chair
- Two emails said to elect someone who represents/reflects community
- One email said to select unbiased chair and vice chair
- One email supported Heyen, Lippold and Chandragiri for board leadership roles
The overall theme was support for Blasi, district officials said, saying "she is trusted by the community and can restore public trust in the board (and) advocate for marginalized students."
Many testimonies spoke specifically to the removal of school board members, rather than the newly selected board leadership:
- 63 emails called for Heyen and Kyllo to resign or be removed from the board
- 10 emails called for Heyen only to resign or be removed from the board
- Three emails called for Kyllo only to resign or be removed from the board
- Five emails called for Lippold to resign or be removed from the board
- One email said Heyen, Lippold, Bethell, Kyllo, and Goss should consider stepping down
- One email said all should resign except Blasi
The board's next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14. For more information, go to salkeiz.k12.or.us/schoolboard.
Contact reporter Natalie Pate at npate@statesmanjournal.com or call 503-399-6745.
Keep up on education news in Marion and Polk counties. Become a Statesman Journal subscriber and get unlimited digital access to stories that matter.
"board" - Google News
July 02, 2020 at 04:56AM
https://ift.tt/2CVxVXH
Salem-Keizer School Board votes Satya Chandragiri as new chairman - Statesman Journal
"board" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2KWL1EQ
https://ift.tt/2YrjQdq
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Salem-Keizer School Board votes Satya Chandragiri as new chairman - Statesman Journal"
Post a Comment