Dear Editor:

I would like to share my experience at a recent school board meeting in hopes of shedding light on a growing concern in our community—transparency.

 

I had spoken with Superintendent Lana about being added to the agenda. However, the subject I intended to speak on was not included. Because of that, I adjusted my speech to focus on transparency, which aligned with the meeting's agenda and allowed me to speak during the public comment section. This caused confusion because she did not list me under the topic I told her I would be speaking on -- policy. In a private meeting with her, she made it seem like it would be acceptable for me to speak on that issue.

 

Due to the confusion, I wasn't sure when I was supposed to speak. I stood up during the public comment section because we were not informed of any changes, and she had grouped several speeches together without notifying us. I began speaking about the importance of transparency in relation to a specific policy—Policy KK. I also raised a serious concern about an individual being placed in a position of authority despite being married to a registered sex offender with a history of targeting children in the same age group. I questioned why this person was appointed when the board was aware of the spouse's criminal background.

 

Partway through my comments, Michael Orchard interrupted me, stating that my remarks should be made in a closed session rather than in public. I responded that I had not mentioned any names and had not violated any rules.

 

The only technical violation was that I slightly exceeded my allotted time—but that was only because I was interrupted multiple times by Mr. Orchard and Mr. Eric Wells. Mr. Wells, in particular, was harsh and rude, telling me to "wrap it up" in an aggressive tone. Because of those interruptions, I went over the time limit. Mr. Wells then began yelling at me to sit down.

 

I told him I would finish my statement and added that I did not recognize him as an authority figure. As I tried to finish my sentence, he spoke over me. I had only two sentences left. I completed them and concluded by saying, "I will not sit down for you, sir. But since I'm finished, I will sit down now."

 

Board procedure states that a speaker's time should be paused when they are interrupted, but in my case, the clock was not stopped. My wife timed my speech, and without the interruptions, it lasted four minutes and fifty seconds.

 

Despite this, Mr. Wells instructed a school resource officer to remove me from the meeting. I'm not sure exactly who stood to escort me out, but it was at least three individuals. As I was leaving, I said, "Corruption at its finest," and, "If you can't handle the truth, then don't take an oath of office."

 

My only goal that night was to speak honestly and openly about a matter that affects our children and our community. If our leaders cannot allow respectful dialogue and differing viewpoints—especially on matters of transparency—then we have a serious problem that must be addressed. Several parents have since told us they are removing their children from the public school system to homeschool them or enroll them in a different district because of the very concerns I raised in my speech. That kind of reaction does not help the communities this school district is supposed to serve.

 

Sincerely,

Bobby Wayne McKinney

Birch Tree, Mo