Does School Board Need Lessons in Civility?

When the Board of Education toward the end of its afternoon session Thursday voted 7-0 to allow board member Brian Meshkin to participate via telephone in the remainder of the meeting, it looked like smooth sailing for the group for the rest of the night.

But tempers flared toward the end of the evening session as the group prepared to cast its votes on the controversial middle school instructional program proposal.

Meshkin accused some of his fellow board members of deliberately attempting to keep him from the meeting and suggested that they may have changed their minds about his participation only after discovering that he was thinking of voting in favor of the proposal.

At the board's Jan. 26 meeting, a motion to approve the middle school proposal deadlocked in a 4-4 tie, causing the board to postpone action for two weeks with the hope that additional compromise could be worked out between school administrators and educators.

Meshkin at that time joined members Allen Dyer and Cindy Vaillancourt and student member Tomi Williams in opposing the motion to approve.

Meshkin voted for the amended proposal Thursday, which passed 5-3, but not before accusing some board members of trying to "disenfranchise" him and lying to him about  electronic participation in meetings being "illegal."

On Monday, school board Chairwoman Sandra French said she was sorry about the way the board meeting ended.

"I really regret what happened," French said. "I wish we could have remained focused on the monumental task we had at hand."

The task at hand included nothing less than an overhaul of the county's middle school curriculum and daily schedule and the controversial elimination of separate reading classes.

Many online comments posted on Columbia Patch on Friday and over the weekend called out board members for a perceived lack of civility and likened the board meeting to an episode of reality TV.

"The behavior of some members of the BOE at last night's meeting was certainly not a lesson in civility," Ann Delacy, a school board candidate, wrote. "It was more like an episode out of the Jerry Springer show."

Reader Laurie Butts wrote that she was "completely disappointed" with the results of the meeting and said the "student board member should be listened to more often."

Student member Tomi Willimans voted against the proposal after telling his fellow members how important middle school reading classes had been to him — that he was a self-professed nonreader until a passion for the activity was sparked by a reading teacher in the class now targeted for elimination.

Howard County Education Association President Paul Lemle said Monday he believes the board's lack of civility and infighting is impairing its ability to do its job.

"They're openly attacking each other publicly, privately, you name it," Lemle said. "Their personal animus is interfering with their judgment and their ability to govern."

Lemle said the problems can be addressed, but only if the board agrees to try to find solutions.

"I do think this is fixable — by elections and resignations and a very serious determination to follow rules, listen to disagreements and respect each other," Lemle said. "They need parliamentary help, they need conflict resolution help and they need legal help, and they have demonstrated their unwillingness to seek that kind of help."

Lemle said his organization is considering drafting a resolution asking the board to seek that assistance.

French said she "respectfully disagrees" with Lemle.

The board will pursue legal advice in regard to the specific issue of electronic participation in meetings, and the group will revise its procedure formally at either a board retreat or future meeting, she said.

In the meantime, she said it has been her goal since becoming chairwoman in December to run more efficient and civil meetings.

"Do I think we have improved? Yes," she said. "Do we have room for more improvement? Yes, we do."

French said it is a prority of hers that meetings adhere to Robert's Rules of Parliamentary Procedure and she also hopes to end meetings by 9 or 9:30 p.m.

Some recent meetings with packed agendas have adjourned after 11 p.m.

Prolonging discussions means either long meetings or pushing a topic to a future meeting, and French said she hopes to avoid that.

French said the board consists of dedicated people who care about Howard County's children and appreciate the system's teaching staff.

"We owe them our best performance and our dedication," French said. "We need to stay focused on the issues and be more civil."