Magnus apologized during the long meeting for calling the Yellow Springs superintendent Terri Holden a slur.
“I apologize for losing my temper after the school board meeting,” Magnus said in a written statement to the board. “I am embarrassed for my use of coarse language, but let me go further. I hope to use this moment for proper introspection and as a teaching moment to myself as well as others.”
The board voted to not accept Magnus’s apology with four board members voting “no” and Magnus abstaining. Earlier in the meeting, board president Rebecca Potter asked Magnus to redraft her apology.
Holden said she was being put in a difficult position to respond to Magnus’s apology in a public space. Board policy requires that board member’s behavior be discussed publicly.
“It’s been my experience, I’m going to own the end result here,” Holden said. “If I don’t accept the apology, I’m just not a woman.”
During Thursday’s meeting, Magnus said she was threatened after the school board meeting but said she did not want to go into the details. She apologized to the people in the room during the time when she yelled a slur after the superintendent had left the room, and thanked the people who helped deescalate the situation. The situation was filmed and obtained by the Dayton Daily News.
The December issue flared up while the board was discussing legal bills around multiple facilities projects. One is the school district’s upcoming bond levy-funded school facilities project, and the other is a proposed affordable housing development at district-owned soccer fields.
On Thursday, the board continued to discuss a proposed housing project on the district’s soccer fields, which the district would have to sell to the village for the project to move forward. The sale is contingent on the soccer fields being replaced with other land.
The board postponed discussions on a proposal from the developer that the sale isn’t tied to the soccer fields being replaced. A village resident has offered land as a donation to replace the current soccer fields.
This is not the first time the district has experienced division. Magnus was investigated and the school board proposed a censure for comments she made in a Facebook message to a Yellow Springs schools teacher. The censure failed because the board split two votes to two votes, with Magnus abstaining.
Magnus publicly apologized after that incident, in which an investigator found she violated two school board policies. She said in an email to the Dayton Daily News that she has since undergone training with the Ohio School Board Association.
About the Author
