Raceland board talks policies, transparency

Nov. 5—RACELAND — Raceland-Worthington Independent School board members engaged in a discussion with attorney Tim Crawford and Superintendent Larry Coldiron about transparency before closely reviewing a few specific policies.

Although not on the special meeting agenda, the first 35-40 minutes of Friday's three-hour session consisted of conversation regarding the past few gatherings, which have contained controversial topics and have been rather contentious.

"For years, everything's been rainbows and butterflies here, but we're in a tough time," said board member Jerry Epling. "We've got to wipe our brow, square our shoulders and move forward."

Epling and board member Don Rambo offered suggestions that would potentially prevent volatile meetings such as the last few. In September and October, attendees hurled accusations toward the superintendent and voiced allegations regarding grooming and inappropriate communication between staff members and students.

Rambo suggested a "from the superintendent's desk" newsletter that the community could access.

"You could say something like, we're aware of issues and looking at them," Rambo said. "Give people assurance that we are dealing with issues at hand."

"A newsletter is something we've done in the past, but it's been a while," Coldiron told The Daily Independent on Friday evening. "I would be open to anything we can do to be transparent, to get information out to the community, students and parents."

Epling also said more communication with the superintendent prior to an official board meeting would be beneficial. Coldiron later said while that was feasible, it's more difficult because the board can't discuss anything with a quorum present unless it's an official meeting. The 12-year superintendent is not in favor of discussing topics one-on-one with each board member prior to meetings because it leaves the public in the dark, he said.

"We don't want to seem like we're not concerned," Crawford said to the board on Friday morning. "But sometimes we don't have enough information at the time."

Crawford has been the district's attorney for five or six years, according to Coldiron.

A couple board members asked Crawford if the board needs a policy to implement any agreed-upon measures for more transparency. Crawford said no.

Crawford reminded the board that the designated 15-minute period for public comment is just that — a window for comment. "It's not a public Q-and-A or town hall," he said.

"Your job is to listen," he told the board.

While it's been common practice at Raceland to have meeting attendees ink their name on a sign-in sheet, it can't be forced, according to Crawford.

Board member Brad Fairchild said he would prefer more time to study questions from the public prior to meetings. Fairchild referred to the most recent gathering, during which one person had a front-and-back sheet full of questions.

"It'd be nice to have at least five minutes to read questions," Fairchild said.

Fairchild said he apologized for the way he spoke to a concerned community member after the Oct. 23 meeting, but he later told the person that he came at the board "too aggressively, and to come in a little calmer next time."

Crawford commended Fairchild for the sound advice.

Coldiron said if community members do seek answers on any topic, he is in favor of distributing these questions to the board beforehand so they're not caught off-guard.

"Our policies-and-procedures book is pretty thick," Coldiron said. "Nobody out there is able to cite every policy and procedure off the cuff. ... Some information beforehand would be a great thing."

Coldiron said anyone with questions for him or the board should call the central office at 836-2144 and ask for him.

Contact information for all board members — including home numbers, mobile numbers and email addresses — is accessible on the Raceland-Worthington Independent School District Website.

"We have a good board with a good mix of people," Coldiron said. "Every board wants to be as transparent as they possibly can. A lot of times, in meetings, there are things you can and can't say."

Crawford reiterated that the board meetings are "not public meetings" rather "meetings held in public."

"There's a difference," he said.

If a topic is not on the agenda, the board isn't obligated to discuss it — and sometimes they legally can't, which is the case regarding any personnel issue.

Coldiron assured he and the board are not "sweeping things under the rug."

He said there is still a Kentucky State Police investigation regarding a teacher who is no longer in the high school classroom but is still currently employed by the district.

"As soon as we can get that information, we can move forward the best we can for the students and the district," Coldiron said.

With Crawford directing, the board reviewed the "community use of school facilities" policy and the 05.31 AP.21 procedure. The Office of Education Accountability recently conducted an investigation regarding six allegations — three of which carried weight and contained a policy violation. The OEA also reported that Coldiron and the district were either in compliance or working toward compliance on those three issues.

One of those pertained to The Studio of Dance Kentucky, which is owned and operated by Raceland's varsity dance coach. Since the coach is no longer a paid employee and is simply volunteering her services in that capacity, The Studio has continued to operate on school grounds — mainly at the central office.

"We look at The Studio as a benefit to our district, with a lot of students in our district, from our area and community," Coldiron said. "It's a win-win for everybody."

Crawford did say if a school facility is utilized for a non-school activity, the school must require proof of insurance from that organization.

Coldiron said Raceland views The Studio just as it does its youth baseball/softball league and JFL (Junior Football League) — which is "part of our school but technically not part of our school" — so, essentially, it's a school-related group. It's up to the school district whether it charges this organization to utilize its facilities. As of now, The Studio is not charged a rental fee.

"They've brought in students for us, so what kind of fee can you charge them?" Coldiron said. "It's a recruiting tool for our district. Every school wants to tout their good programs, and this is a great one. It's a no-brainer for the district."

The board also went over the 05.31 AP.21 procedure, which pertains to facility usage. Coldiron said the board plans to reach out to the Kentucky School Boards Association for even more guidance in order to avoid any violation in the future.

Coldiron said Friday's meeting was productive.

"It's always good to have those kinds of meetings," he said. "We have a policy meeting once a year, and what you end up doing as a board is you discuss changes from the legislative session and you spend your time on getting things up to speed, and then you're not refreshing yourself on some older policies in place."

(606) 326-2664 — asnyder@dailyindependent.com