EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An ongoing row between a local attorney and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation board deepened Monday night after a board member threatened to call security on the man who, angry the body still wasn't hearing public comment, refused to leave the podium.
That was the highlight to the board's Monday night meeting that was otherwise quite procedural. Here's what you missed:
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'You're out of order'
Immediately after the board voted on the consent agenda, local attorney and transparency advocate Charlie Berger began speaking from the podium.
Related: EVSC and transparency critic tangle over corporation's use of governor's order
"Mr. President, my name's Charlie Berger, and I'm here tonight because there's no public comment on the agenda," he said.
"I sense this corporation has been operating in the darkness," he continued as school board members tried to stop him.
The school board hasn't heard public comment since resuming in-person meetings, citing an executive order from Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. The previous meeting was an exception because state law required public comment as part of the budget approval process. Berger has repeatedly asked the board to be more transparent, a mission he started well before the ongoing pandemic.
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At Monday night's meeting, he started talking about teachers who are afraid to speak out because they fear retribution from the administration.
"You're out of order," multiple board members told him.
"I don't think I'm out of order. I think you're out of order," he responded. A couple audience members applauded.
The board tried to move on to the next item on the agenda, but Berger wouldn't budge.
"Do we need security?" school board member Chris Kiefer asked.
"If you want to call security, call security," Berger quipped.
In the end, Berger stood down and the meeting progressed as usual.
"I think it demonstrates the school board trustees’ fear of the public having any clear understanding of what they’re actually doing today, so they use force to try to bully the public," Berger told the Courier & Press after the meeting.
"I expected they would do it," he said. "I was just trying to make a point."
He provided C&P with a letter that outlines issues he said he wanted to discuss with the board. They include concerns that the board hasn't been transparent with the budget details. He brought up a similar complaint during a public hearing on the budget.
C&P reached out to Kiefer for comment but he didn't answer, and leaving a voice message wasn't possible.
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Here's what else you missed from Monday night's meeting:
Budget approved
Speaking of the budget, the EVSC's for calendar year 2021 was approved unanimously without much discussion. It wrapped up a process that began on Aug. 24 with a presentation, followed by a public hearing on Sept. 7.
In memoriam
EVSC Superintendent David Smith paid tribute to Anthony Brooks Sr., an area pastor, educator and civil rights leader who died Sunday at the age of 85.
"Unfortunately, we lost a great educator for many, many decades, as well as an administrator," Smith said. "Just a well-known family in the community and was an outstanding educator and human being."
Brooks taught at West Terrace and served as a principal at Stanley Hall, Harper, Lincoln and Christa McAuliffe schools and assistant principal at Reitz High School. He then became one of the EVSC's first Black administrators, according to son Adrian Brooks Sr.
"Thoughts and prayers go to his family," Smith said.
Mark your calendars
A virtual town hall will be held on Sept. 28 at 5 p.m., Smith said. EVSC officials will join him in a video over Facebook Live, and anyone with questions can write them in the comments.
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