The removal of Vera Daniels and Celeste Hoins from the substitute teaching list in August 2023 by the Board of Education sent shockwaves through our small town. Many in the community viewed this as an act of retaliation by certain board members that didn’t like the opinions about proposed board policy and conduct that Vera and Celeste shared during public comment at several BoE meetings. However, Vera and Celeste were not given a reason by the district’s Superintendent when they asked. The only comment they received was that it was discussed during the Executive Session and that it was confidential. Thus, Vera and Celeste were left to assume that the action was retaliatory. So, they sued the school board and the district for violating their First Amendment Right to Free Speech. Through the discovery process, their lawyer gathered board members’ emails, texts, and social media posts relevant to the case. They also formally deposed three (3) of the board members that were in on the decision made during that executive session: Amy Cawvey, Mary Wood, and Carla Wiegers.
In the interest of full transparency, we obtained the depositions for Amy Cawvey, Mary Wood, and Carla Wiegers. We have read them and they are at times difficult to follow. There are so many holes in their winding story, that we have concluded that their actions were completely out of line and Vera and Celeste were well within their rights to seek justice. There are no records of any complaints about their performance as substitute teachers and only vague recollections of second-hand accounts of interactions they may have had outside of school and discussions between board members and superintendents. In fact, both Vera and Celeste were frequently requested by teachers in our Lansing schools. The case was settled out of court, with Vera and Celeste being welcomed to continue working for the district.
We firmly believe that the Board of Education’s role is, as it reads on the Kansas State Board of Education website, “to prepare Kansas students for lifelong success through rigorous, quality academic instruction, career training and character development according to each student’s gifts and talents.” BoE members are elected to hire the Superintendent, oversee the district’s budget, and update board policy based on the needs of the district or when the state mandates policy changes. In recent years, however, certain school board members have actively promoted misinformation about our public schools and are publicly supporting extremist groups that are pushing anti-public education legislation nationally.
We believe political agendas have no place on a school board. The responsibility of board members that hold this volunteer position are expected to do what is best for the education of all public school students. Public schools are charged with educating all the students in the community they serve and do not discriminate or reject them based on their race, culture, gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or disability. Public schools are truly places for all.
Our message to those board members is to stay in your lane. Let the experts and professionals do their job. Asking questions for clarification or to understand something better is honorable only if you are willing to listen with an open mind to the reasoning behind a request or a decision. When you feel authorized to direct the Superintendent to fire employees based solely on your evaluation of their character, you have crossed the line. We hope these board members or citizens that consider running for the BoE in the future will learn a lesson from the egregious error in judgment that occurred last August by the majority of the board members at that time.
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