Listen to Your Words: Conflicting Perspectives on Directing the Superintendent Arise at School Board Work Session

“It’s our job to direct the superintendent,” Warren County School Board member Melanie Salins declared at a work session that began at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21 in the Diversified Minds Meeting Room at 465 West 15^th Street. “One hundred percent. That’s our job.”

: Warren County School Board meets for a work session on Wednesday evening.

This remark was made in connection with a discussion on communications and a document, available on the board’s website, designed to streamline the process by which issues ranging from medical emergencies to a drop in a student’s academic performance are communicated to and handled by the school board and its superintendent. This came after board members Melanie Salins and Thomas McFadden expressed disappointment in the performance of ESS, a substitute teacher management company, whose associates stood before them and blamed their failures on circumstantial factors like COVID-19. This exchange was followed by a presentation from representatives of Kelly Education, another substitute teacher management company that believes they can do the job well. Later, as the board discussed protocol for directing communications on various issues within the school system as it pertains to the school board and its superintendent, a disagreement arose between members Melanie Salins and Andrea Lo, specifically in terms of what it means to “direct the superintendent”.

Above Doug Snyder of ESS and his associates answer questions from the school board about the company’s apparent failure to run the school system’s subbing pool most effectively. Below: Representative of Kelly Education Jennifer Carosielli and her associates make a presentation to the board on how their business can run the school system’s subbing pool more effectively.

“And direct the superintendent!” Salins exclaimed as the disagreement progressed. “Listen to your words!” The issue at stake was whether the board is authorized to direct the superintendent to direct a student to write a letter of apology in the case that a student has behaved unacceptably; there was indeed such a case, where a student used foul language to a staff member, and in Salins’ mind, the board had reached consensus in closed session about how to handle such incidents. Lo, however, revealed at Wednesday night’s meeting that she is uncomfortable with this type of disciplinary action on the part of the board. “Did we vote on this?” she asked. As this issue had been addressed in closed sessions, Salins then declared that she would ensure all matters discussed in closed sessions come to a vote; otherwise, she asked Lo, what is the point of having those conversations?

The conflict seems to reside in the relationship between board members acting as individuals and board members acting as a collective whole. Member Antoinette Funk underlined, amid this exchange between Lo and Salins, that it is vital for all members to act “as a board … not as an individual.” Salins expressed her frustration insofar as individual board members receive complaints that they may or may not share with their fellow board members. This in her mind incapacitates the board to do its job. “The only time we ever hear anything back from you,” she said to Lo, “is when you want to speak up and send an email saying that you don’t want to do your job; at least step back and let the rest of us do ours.” With lawsuits piling up and costing taxpayers money, the need for the board to act as a team becomes ever more urgent.

Note: The Warren County School Board Meeting of February 21, 2024, was not recorded due to a scheduling conflict. We regret this inconvenience.