Tipp City school superintendent Aaron Moran urges Ohio community to stop the hate, focus on kids

The Tipp City Exempted Village Schools superintendent is calling for the end to “contentious back and forth” focused on school board members and an emphasis on “a more professional and productive environment” centered on students.

Aaron Moran, who joined the district as superintendent this summer, said that despite turmoil among the board and in the community, he will continue to push for conversation and actions on what is best for district students.

Moran made the comments in a written statement issued during the past week.

“Tipp City Schools has many achievements to celebrate and significant goals to strive toward to foster student success. The current state of disagreement and vitriol around the school district jeopardizes the focus and taints our students, district, and community. I get people are unhappy with the behaviors of various people,” Moran wrote.

“However, the hate, name-calling, and disgust in public spaces don’t solve our issues or move the district forward. Differences and disagreements in a community can be expected and are good for growth when the focus is on ideas, not personal attacks,” he wrote.

The turmoil among the board and in the community has been taking place for the past couple of years. Controversy surrounded a citizens group’s effort to legally remove board members Theresa Dunaway and Anne Zakkour, which was pending for months in a Miami County court before the citizens group dismissed the action in the spring.

Angry exchanges between board members took place at board meetings culminating Sept. 5 by Zakkour giving a Nazi salute to board President Simon Patry. The incident brought national attention, and beyond.

The board since that time has been unable to reach a meeting quorum to appoint a new board member after Patry resigned for personal and business reasons.

The call for focus on the other aspects of the district and the community was needed because those recent incidents have included “harsh social media conversations … gaining traction again,” Moran wrote.

In an effort to try to change the tone, he said he will host public coffee meetings to discuss district issues and how to move forward.

The initial coffees are scheduled as follows:

- Oct. 13, from 8:30-9:30 a.m., Tipp City Public Library

- Oct. 17, from 7-8 a.m., Grounds for Pleasure Coffee

- Oct. 19, from 9-10 a.m., United Global Methodist Church

- Oct. 24, from 7:30-8:30 a.m., Tipp City Fire Station.

Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com

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