Board member Anne Zakkour raised the issue. She and board President Simon Patry had a verbal exchange that began when Zakkour, who asked to discuss negligence in an employee contract, said she was not at the meeting when Moran was hired.
Patry immediately asked “does this relate to the superintendent contract?” and made a motion to discuss the topic in executive session as an employee negotiations issue.
Zakkour continued her comments, saying she was glad to see a superintendent contract approved, but added that a bridge contract was needed.
Those comments came between Patry’s attempts to stop her discussion. At one point, he repeatedly yelled “Point of order,” urging Zakkour to stop.
He eventually called for a motion to censure Zakkour and not allow her to speak until the board addressed the topic in a closed session.
Board members Patry, Amber Drum and Richard Mains voted to censure, while Zakkour and Theresa Dunaway voted no.
Dunaway said she was confident that “Mrs. Zakkour would never discuss anything (in public) that would be executive session content … She is talking about process.”
Drum said she “was just concerned something may be said ... maybe has been done. It is not to be rude. I am trying to protect everybody if possible.”
The heated discussion on the contract wasn’t the only one during the meeting. Board members also exchanged comments about how to deal with a letter regarding a lawsuit and about how Robert’s Rules of Order were being used in conducting meetings.
Not the first board tension
The Tipp City school board has had repeated turmoil in the past two years.
Zakkour and Dunaway were named in a 2021 complaint by the Tipp City Concerned Citizens seeking their legal removal from the board for alleged misdeeds. The complaint was dismissed last month by the citizens group.
The board’s meetings often last five to six hours including executive sessions — far longer than most school districts’ meetings. Dunaway, a former board president, said meetings are run in a “dysfunctional manner.”
“I think sometime we digress more than we should. To me, enforcing Robert’s Rules of Order helps us kind of remember that,” Patry said.
But board members on occasion disagree on how those rules should be applied.
This week’s resolution
Zakkour said Patry’s demeanor Tuesday “was way out of control for this” and asked what would happen if she continued talking. Patry said three board members, a majority, had asked her to stop talking about the issues until an executive session. She could be asked to leave the room during discussion, he said.
After that executive session, the board voted to approve the bridge contract for dates between March 20 and July 31. Specific terms of that contract with Moran were not immediately available. Many local school districts approve such contracts with incoming superintendents, paying them to work with existing school staff on the upcoming transition, for a specified number of days within a larger window.
Contrary to the tone earlier in the meeting, Patry thanked Zakkour for bringing the need for the bridge contract to the board’s attention. The board also voted to vacate Zakkour’s censure. She thanked the board for that action.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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