Editor’s Note: This article is now complete.
We’re LIVE! at tonight’s Danville School board meeting. Be sure to refresh the page for the latest photos, commentary and happenings!
We’re here. Steven Gould is first to arrive, and asks Kathy Osborne if she wanted to talk. They spend 5 minutes in another room. I found out they were talking about a personnel recommendation and whether it should be moved to a closed session.
I will be speaking in the public comment session.
Hey. it’s Laurie Moran!
They will be discussing a revised policy on the restraint and detention of students tonight.
We’re underway. All members present. They’re now adding an invocation and the pledge of allegiance. Everyone stands except the new R&B reporter.
Recognition segment is next. Laurie Moran awards teacher grants on behalf of the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce.
I make my speech. I had three things to discuss. First, I gave the same speech that I gave to city council on Tuesday night about skirting the Open Meetings laws. Second, I expressed my disappointment that I didn’t the quick responses that I needed from school officials while I was actively covering those idiotic “purge” rumors. Finally, I told the board about my factchecking regarding the 180-day timeclock on finding a new superintendent. I found out that no extension is available to that rule. (Later in the night, I found out that Ed Polhamus had already gotten that information too). I got no comments or questions from the board after my speech, but my issues were addressed in the around-the-horn session. We’ll get to that down in that section.
Petrina Carter speaks now. She says she’s speaking for that group Greg Hairston spoke for two weeks ago. She said she didn’t like speakers endorsing a specific person. Translation: They don’t want Kathy Osborne. Ron Johnson, president of Danville United, seems to also be a member of that group. I asked him who was in this group and reminded him that an anonymous group like that carries very little weight with me (and probably others). He said he’d get with me on that.
Nobody speaks about the restraint and detention policy. Steven Gould announces he will ask for an expedited timeframe for parental notification. Currently, it would say that parents have be notified of any detention or restraint activity within 15 days. What?! FIFTEEN DAYS? Gould’s right on that and that needs to be changed to something realistic and suggests 24 hours. That revised policy will be voted on at the October meeting.
Melissa Newton, current principal of Park Avenue Elementary to be moved to central office in data collection and analyzing. This job is titled Director of Accountability (and some bureaucratic other words that I couldn’t remember). Sandy Mitchell moves from assistant principal to principal at Park Avenue Elementary. 18 personnel recommendations, all approved.
Next, board members’ elected terms will be added to the website. That’s a start. Now they need photos and more detailed contact information.
We’re now talking about the superintendent search. The superintendent must be named in the 180-day period., but they don’t have to start working by that date. Terri Hall questions the national process because it may attract a candidate who uses the Danville system as a stepping stone. Sharon Dones makes good points about letting the consulting firm make the first cut of applicants, as that’s why they’re being paid to do. She also says that having board members review every applicant would bring in each person’s natural bias, but the consultant firm stays objective. The board decides on a national search with a consulting firm for the superintendent search.
Now the discussion moves to hiring or paying for secretarial services on the search. That falls flat as there’s really no need for it. Alan Spencer, board attorney, suggests that the city attorney’s office staff could handle this. Steven Gould asks that the part of the proposal saying the consulting firm would help negotiate the employment contract be taken out, and all agree.
Search firm will by hired by Oct. 1, brochures by Oct. 10, national ads in at least 2 trade publications. Applications due in by Nov 14. Background & reference checks and finalists by Nov. 26. This school board is now realizing that the 180-day timeclock is running down quickly. Maybe they regret wasting 60 days of that clock? The proposal for the search firm will be sent to five consulting firms.
The school’s food system has made a profit more than what’s allowed, so they have to use the extra profits for equipment.
Around the horn session to close the open part of tonight’s meeting.
Kathy Osborne goes over more donations to the school system. She’s also the only one to mention last Friday’s hysteria. Renee Hughes directly addresses my disappointment about lack of quick response to the “purge” rumors, saying they have a public relations committee and my issue will be addressed. Ed Polhamus explains that Sherman Saunders and Gary Miller got the final version of the school system’s budget at the meeting on August 6th, and that budget is available on the school system’s website.
Looks like we’re done. More coming up on SouthsideCentral!
Osborne’s not the right race for this group. Plain and simple.
Those supporting her are white. Those pushing for a national search are African American. A city divided will never move forward.
I think it’s way more than that. Osborne is a holdover from an administration that marginalized the concerns of a whole segment of the community like a NUMBER of Danville entities marginalize that community. She has done exactly ZERO during her time heading things up to reach out to that community. You’re right that division won’t solve anything, but healing begins with bringing in somebody who will take both sides of a dispute seriously and work to bring them together. That’s the issue, not race.
Your right about taking both sides seriously and working to bring them together. The main hurdle is not only the right person, it is both sides of the divided board (which, by the way, is split perfectly along racial lines, so let’s not pretend race isn’t a huge issue): they know what they want, be it Superintendent, turning the system in the right direction, etc.; there’s just too much of an impasse on both sides. It will take the next two-three Iterations of Superintendent(s)/Boards to make progress. All the while, the future of the kids gets less apealing because adults can’t get past their personal agendas. Sad.
EXCELLENT! Well Stated
The register and bee reporter needs to be made aware that they should stand during the pledge of allegiance.No excuses for this .
That is absolutely and positively not the case. I applaud the reporter and hope that it was an intentional choice made in solidarity with the individual removed from a Florida government meeting for the same thing.
I’m pretty sure that’s not tbe reason. He was still fumbling through his stuff.
Then that’s just unprofessional. I’m all for taking a stand in protest or because of a belief, but it’s just not respectful to stumble in to your job late and not prepared to work.
Lee your liberal anti patriotic mentality hopefully will come back in Karma on you one day. It is liberal lawyers like yourself that are allowing people like the one in Florida and if the reg reporter to create stories that are shameless and uncalled for. There is a huge difference in saying a public secular prayer and the respect of at least standing for the pledge of allegiance to the flag that gives him the freedom to be so disrespectful. Just because you have the right to do something does not mean you should prove you are able to by doing it.
I welcome your right to speak your mind just as I welcome the right of anyone who pleases to not participate in the least in the pledge. Decades old Supreme Court jurisprudence makes clear what happened in Florida is not permissible, and it sickens me to see our rights trampled that way, particularly when the ignorant mayor suggests it is disrespectful of the troops to not stand. What is disrespectful is for a governmental official to infringe on the rights those same troops fight for. I welcome you to consider that guy a jerk or even me a jerk for applauding him and condemning that mayor
That’s your right, and I wouldn’t take it away from you. I will continue to stand up for the rights of people, though.
You keep standing up for peoples rights. I never said they do not have the right to not stand.I said it is not right and they should be corrected for their complete disrespect to the very people who gave their lives for them to have that right.You could just as easily support the mayor’s efforts in trying to make this person realize they are wrong in their desire to create a story. But no you think that supporting the registers reporter in doing it too if that is why they did it makes more sense than supporting what the flag stands for and what it took for us to have the freedom we have.There are times that just because we have a freedom to do something does not mean we should do it. When someone decided to do it anyway and others support it then they are just as wrong in supporting something that we all know we can do but should not do.For you to publicly support him only promotes others to do the same.
The guy in Florida was a putz , the reg reporter was either not ready to do his job or was being a putz and you definitely are a putz for supporting someone like this even if they do have the right to do something as despicable as this.
The “race” is on…to the next African American Superintendent. Keep swapping them out until you get one that works.
The successful candidate will indeed use Danville as a stepping stone, if he/she is really strong, or has high potential and grows into that potential; not many people out there that meets either of those descriptions will want to be constrained by the seemingly race-based infighting this board displays just by the sides they fall on during Superintendent conversations, white or African American.
Using Danville as a stepping stone is not a bad thing as long as the board gets an appropriate commitment of 2 or 3 years from the person. That goes double if the person properly brings in people under him who can grow into the job and maintain continuity.
I would respectfully disagree. I think it’s a waste of time to have someone for 2 to 3 years. Year one in any executive job is simply feeling your way through it. Year two should be taking all that you learned in year one and developing a strategic plan on how to transform the organization. Year three is for implementation and execution of the strategic plan. Years 4 and 5 are for measuring and assessing the plan and adjusting it.
I think you want a minimum 5 year commitment from a Superintendent or a City Manager. It takes 5 years to really transform an organization as large as DPS or the City government. I fear that someone who is here for 2 or 3 years isn’t going to have a chance to implement true reform. As much as we wish it could be done, change is difficult and takes time when you’re completely revamping an organization.
Well said. Accurate on all point. Organizational change is slow for many reasons. It is indeed a phase process.
Anyone especially in larger organizations can relate.
That’s why bringing in people under the new person is important. Nobody who is really worth getting is going to commit 5 years. If Danville embraces somebody here who will only commit to a 3 year period, they’ll get a much more talented Superintendent than if they demand 5 years.
Fun Fact: The maximum allowable term of a school superintendent contract in Virginia is 4 years.
Certainly, a person has the right to mention a specific person for the super job, whether or not people like that they are that specific is irrelevant. Personally, I shared my thoughts with Steven Gould. They are pretty generic. Want someone who will work with the board on clearly defined objectives. I want teach put back in the word “teacher”. I believe teacher must have the resources to compete with the world of today. You cannot expect a teacher to compete with the excitement of the technological world out of the classroom without the technology in the classrooms. What worked years ago does not work now. The world has changed and changes constantly now. What I used to think was science fiction from The Jetsons is turning out to the reality.
Bruce,
Don’t tease with opinion on comments without giving us an indication of what the comments are. Can probably guess which side Dones falls on, but a description would help.
Dones is using her HR expertise in remarks like “If we’re going to use a consulting firm, use them completely.”
Am I the only person concerned that we have a “Director of Accountability”? Is there a job description for this job? How much does it pay? Bet you could not be considered for this position unless you have an advanced degree in education! Bruce, am I going to have to come down there also?
There were two other parts to that job title.
I wonder if anybody on the board crawled up Osborne’s butt about growing the central office staff the way they did with the last guy.
Agree… The board does appear divided. Mrs.Dones was very vocal tonight and did bring a ton of knowledge to the board about consulting firms… However, it appeared as if she was speaking for a specific group. I have a problem with that….
Can you report what you said in your speech to board?
Yes. I’ll add that to the article when I clean it up tonight.