Around 100 people showed up for the special Riley County USD 378 School Board meeting held Monday night at the Riley County High School. Rumors have been circulating about Superintendent, Brad Starne’s resignation, and the school board has reportedly struggled to make decisions during previous meetings.
It appeared the special meeting would be no exception as board members could not even agree on whether or not to pass the agenda. Board member, David Higgins made a motion to approve the agenda after striking items B and C-which regarded future needs for district administration and considering hiring an assistant superintendent. The motion quickly died as questions were raised by board members as to how item A (considering the tendered resignation of Starnes) even made it on the agenda.
A motion was made to delete all three items (A, B, and C) from the agenda. Soon after, applause broke out in the crowd. Board members, Jennifer Wilson and Randy Glenn stated that state statute says you cannot alter a special meeting agenda. They said that is only allowed for regular meetings.
This prompted additional discussion and brief arguments. Board President, Kerry Thurlow ended the confrontation by asking “are we going to get anything done tonight?”
Finally, the board decided to approve the agenda, as they could table items once they were brought up later in the meeting.
The board then approved a half hour executive session. Two additional times, the board returned and approved more executive sessions, making the total executive session time an hour and a half.
At 8:45, the board returned. The motion was made to accept Starnes’s resignation, which was quickly seconded.
Before the board voted, many chose to share comments. Glenn shared a few words and mentioned his support for Starnes. Although Starnes stated in his resignation that he felt there was a “lack of trust” within the district, the strong showing proved the district trusts and supports Starnes. This comment prompted a long drawn out applause, which concluded once Thurlow asked for it to stop.
Wilson took the time to make a brief statement, as she said she would be in support of extending Starnes’s contract for another two years if he stayed. This comment also initiated applause.
Thurlow began by mentioning her father, who previously served on the board, recently passed away unexpectedly. She stated, her father said “he has never seen more drama” in the district. She concluded by saying she wanted to approve Starnes’s resignation, as she wanted to take a chance on doing this in the hopes it would better the district. These comments prompted a small amount of applause from one part of the audience.
The board ended up deciding to approve the acceptance of Starnes’s resignation on a 4-3 vote. This will be made effective on June 30th.
Prior to the meeting, KMAN received countless emails and phone calls about the district. Some described the special meeting as “inconvenient”, “disturbing”, and a “witch hunt”.
