Another special school board meeting is scheduled Tuesday night for Riley County USD 378 schools. (See agenda below)
Meetings have become a weekly norm lately in Riley County Schools, as the board, which has been tight lipped regarding the future of suspended Superintendent Cliff Williams, plans to enter an executive session to discuss contracts and personnel matters.
The meeting comes just two weeks after a majority of the board moved to start negotiations between its hired counsel, the Hoover Law Firm of Junction City and Mr. Williams. Four of the board members have consistently voted to keep Williams suspended since Jan. 8, for a currently unspecified reason. A former board member hinted at last week’s meeting the issue may be in part tied to a contract extension put into place prior to the end of December, for the next school calendar year that begins in July.
The board has remained split on direction of the school district going forward. Last week, board member Jeff Hancock announced his resignation, citing concerns with an initial lack of communication from certain board members with others. Board member Nathan Mead has also been vocal about his opposition to Board President Samantha Brown’s leadership throughout the process, and criticized her for going around the board to personally hire the Ness County Sheriff to investigate a potential Kansas Open Meetings Act violation involving one board member. Only the Riley County Attorney and Kansas Attorney General has that legal authority, as stated by Mead and confirmed by County Attorney Barry Wilkerson during last week’s meeting.
The board will also consider a $105,000 bid for multiple window replacements at the grade school.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Riley County High School library.
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