The Cumberland County Board of Education’s policy committee adjourned abruptly Wednesday, unable to determine if it would select a chairperson.
“We are at an impasse,” Rebecca Hamby, 7th District representative. “This meeting cannot go any further since we did not vote on a committee chair.”
One board member asked if this was a taste of what the rest of the year would hold.
“I’m hoping that this year does not turn into this, that we are stopped from being able to work, as a board, together,” said Elizabeth Stull, 1st District representative. “You’re trying to go over what the majority of the board voted on.”
The meeting is the first since a contentious regular board meeting Oct. 26 when a 5-3 vote established committees of board members for the coming year.
Nick Davis, 5th District representative, questioned the meeting and the agenda, which included review of policies related to the board’s legal status and authority, role of the board of education, legislative involvement, duties of the officers, board committees, school board meetings, school district planning, the annual operating budget, revenues, fundraising activities, interscholastic athletics, promotion and retention, credit cards and credit lines, and countywide employee dress code.
He also questioned where in policy the panel is instructed to elect a chairperson to lead meetings.
“We’re putting the cart before the horse,” Davis said, pointing to Policy 1.6, policy development and adoption.
That policy tasks the director of schools with drafting and coordinating policy proposals, maintaining the policy manual and coordinating with the Tennessee School Boards Association. It also states that proposed policies or policy changes are to be submitted to the board as part of the agenda.
Stepp was not present for the meeting. Hamby said she had spoken with him that day, though he had not given her input on any specific policy up for discussion.
“He said to let him know how the meeting goes,” Hamby said.
Davis said board policy said the board should approve the policy proposals before the committee could meet and discuss the items.
Teresa Boston, 8th District representative and school board chairperson, disagreed with his reading of the policy.
“When we voted in the policy committee, by the majority of the board, you gave the policy committee a task,” Boston said. “It is to review policies recommended by TSBA or whomever.”
Davis countered, “Does it say that?”
Boston said the panel would then discuss the policies.
Davis said, “To discuss — not to be modified or changed.”
Safdie said, “When you’re looking at these policies, you’re only making a recommendation to pass before the board, the full board. Then the full board either accepts or questions the changes that have been proposed.”
Davis said, “At no point in our policy maintenance does it indicate that we’re to propose changes to policy.”
While that may be how the board operates, Davis said, it is not what’s written in the policy.
Shannon Stout, 9th District, who is not a member of the policy committee this year, but served on it last year, said the policy indicated any policy proposals were to come from the director of schools.
“That’s how I read it,” Stout said.
Boston said later in the meeting, “Mr. Stepp works for the board. The board doesn’t work for Mr. Stepp … And we voted to operate by committees.
Safdie said, “It has always been the board’s prerogative to evaluate policy and to make recommendations either to the director of schools or to the full board for recommendations, and to even pursue discrepancies with the Tennessee School Boards Association.
“Past precedence as a guiding line, what should happen is that a chairperson be selected.”
Safdie has served on the school board for 16 years in total, and served on the county commission for a time, as well.
At the start of the discussion, committee members Stout and Sheri Nichols, 3rd District representative, nominated Hamby to serve as chair.
Davis asked to adjourn the meeting to review policy and return after direction from the full board, but Stull called for the question — a parliamentary move that ends discussion and moves to a vote on the original motion.
The question failed 2-2, with Nichols and Davis opposed and Stull and Hamby in favor.
Hamby said there were policies on the agenda that need to move on to the board for action — including promotion and retention, which includes new provisions to the third-grade reading retention law, and changes recommended by TSBA to the credit cards policy, fundraising activities policy, school district planning policy and revenues policy.
Stout suggested the policies in need of board action be placed on the agenda along with policy 1.3, board committees, for discussion by the full board.
That policy was the subject of lengthy debate during the October board meeting, as well.
Hamby said, “We can’t do that today. We can’t even make a recommendation to take it to the full board because we cannot go any further without a committee chair.”
Davis said, “You could follow policy that says we’re going to have this conversation in the full board meeting and then take it to the committee.”
Stull said, “This takes away the whole objective of having a policy committee … Right now, the board went ahead and voted by the majority to go ahead and operate as committees. What’s going on right now is making it to where we can’t even operate on what the majority of the board voted by not going forward and voting on a committee chair.”
Stout said the board needsto follow the committee policy as it currently reads, “Or, we need to change the committee policy first, before we start handling it in a committee.”
Hamby said she would contact TSBA for guidance on how to move forward.
The full board is scheduled to meet Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. for its combined November-December meeting.