Tempers Flare as District 159 Sets New Meeting Schedule

It wasn't quite a war of words at the meeting, but there were definitely some tense moments between members when discussing the possible switch of meeting dates for the coming year. The contentious atmosphere moved one board member to tears. 

Late in the nearly four-hour board meeting, members voted to change meeting dates and to form a Committee of the Whole, which will meet once a month and encompass all of the board's various committees into one larger group. Both groups will meet once a month, on separate Wednesdays.

“I think it would behoove the board to spend more time together as a board, rather than less time,” said board president John Troy. “It would also have the benefit of the board meeting would take much less time.”

Board member Patrick Markham motioned to change board meetings to the third Wednesday of every month, with the new Committee of the Whole meeting on the first Wednesday of the month.

Markham's motion drew the ire of board member Kathy Moore.

“I can't attend those meetings at all,” Moore interjected, after Markham introduced the motion.

Markham fired back, “There is a motion on the floor,” quieting Moore's objection briefly. Board president John Troy then opened the floor to board member comments, where Moore continued her statement.

“I cannot attend on Wednesdays,” she said. “I come back every Thursday, to every meeting that I can attend. Having every board meeting for the next year that I'm on this board, it's not fair to schedule them when I'm not here.”

Moore and Markham then exchanged words about the meeting schedule, at times talking over each other, while both noting that they have missed various personal events and engagements due to board meetings.

Troy interjected, stating “the board did accommodate [Moore] for the whole year, we changed it for a whole year to Thursdays to accommodate your schedule.”

“So, for the next year, you don't want to?” Moore asked. “I don't understand, it's not like I'm getting my nails done. I am out of town, I'm asking you to have them on Thursdays, so that I can come. … If you decide to have it on Wednesdays when I can't come, why don't you just tell me to get off the board? Because it's not fair, when you know I cannot, ever, come on a Wednesday.”

After Moore's issues were noted, board member Joseph Spalla amended Markham's motion to change board meetings to the second Thursday of the month and Committee of the Whole meetings to the fourth Wednesday.

Spalla and Markham's two motions were then amended again by member Scott Peters, to put Committee of the Whole meetings on the second Thursday and board meetings on the fourth Thursday of each month. All three motions were then set before the board for a vote.

Spalla and Peter's motions were both voted down 4-3, with Troy, Markham, Mike Ford and Mike Frannceschini voting against the two motions. Moore, Spalla and Peters voted for both motions.

The board then voted on Markham's original motion, for meetings of the Committee of the Whole on the first Wednesday and board meetings on the third Wednesday of the month. The motion passed 4-3 with voting lines the same as the previous two motions.

After the meeting Moore spoke to Patch about her concerns.

“I just think that they, that they don't care about my opinion and that's why they're OK that I cannot attend,” Moore said. “I fly in for this meeting. I can phone in for this meeting, it's very difficult to phone in and phoning in on two meetings is a lot to ask for. So I sit there, and I'm on the phone for hours and half the time I don't have the stuff to look at and that's not a very fair way to do things. I was willing to compromise to call in on one and not on the other, but having both of them that I cannot attend, I just think that's very inappropriate.”