Superintendent vote null and void

An action taken at the Douglas County School Board’s March 12 meeting to hire Jeannie Dwyer as superintendent was passed before counsel could interject, resulting in an Open Meeting violation and it didn’t count.

A special meeting is being held 5 p.m. Thursday at the Douglas High School Media Center to address the misstep.

During the March 12 meeting, Trustee Yvonne Wagstaff made a motion to appoint Dwyer as superintendent which was seconded by Trustee Linda Gilkerson.

The March 12 agenda had an item to choose a national search firm to locate the next superintendent and decide on the procedures the seven board members would take during the search. Instead, Wagstaff jumped the gun and cited the extraordinary job Dwyer has been doing since taking over for Keith Lewis on Nov. 1, 2023.

Wagstaff and Gilkerson were joined by Trustees Carey Kangas, Doug Englekirk, and Katherine Dickerson in a “yes” vote on the motion, with current Board President David Burns and past president Susan Jansen abstaining.

In a statement issued last week, Jansen said Dwyer will continued as interim superintendent.

She said that the board is deliberating on the next activity, which could include reviewing applications for the position and inviting Dwyer to participate.

“The board remains steadfast in its commitment to the well-being and success of our students, staff and broader community,” Jansen said. “We thank our community for its patience and trust as we navigate this situation, ensuring adherence to our principles of integrity and excellence in education.”

Because the motion was not agendized, the move was a violation of Open Meeting Law.

School Board counsel Joey Gilbert told The Record-Courier on Monday that he tried to interject that the motion was acting outside the agenda, but the board proceeded.

“It all happened so fast, before I knew it, they had voted,” he said.

Gilbert said just as the motion was being made, he leaned to Kendra Jespen, an attorney with his firm, asking whether this could be done and before he knew it the board voted.

“That’s when I told David (Burns) we needed to take a break and talk about what just happened,” said Gilbert. “Because it was sprung the way it was, it caused everything to be turned upside down.”

After a closed session, Gilbert told the public about the error and said the board would hold a special meeting on the matter.

“First things, first, we have to correct the meeting law violation, so that’s what we need to do before anything else now,” he said.

Gilbert said it is possible that Dwyer can still be hired, but the process of getting her there has to be done properly.

“Personally, I think she should be given a chance,” said Gilbert. “She did step up and take all this on and it has been a process, but it could have been done better and it should be.”

According to the agenda for Thursday, item 3 regards the motion taken during the March 12 meeting and addresses that it was in violation of Open Meeting Law. It states that no action will be taken on the matter and is for information purposes only.

There is no mention of a contract for Dwyer on the agenda.

“The Board President has the authority to put something on the agenda and at this time, he doesn’t want it on there,” said Gilbert. “He wanted to clean up to the mess that was made first. That’s what is important.”

The board plans to continue the discussion selecting a search agency and define specific steps in the process of hiring a new superintendent.