Cronyism is Alive and Well at Fairfield City Schools

Fairfield City Schools is so crooked that if it swallowed a roofing nail, it would come out the other side as a corkscrew.

Fairfield City Schools is very talented.  They never surprise us, but at the same time never cease to amaze.  Once again, the Board of Education has spit in the face of this community and told us all to go to hell.

The story behind this latest outrage from Fairfield City Schools began with a real tragedy.  The Board Vice President, Jerome Kearns, sadly passed away of a sudden heart attack on December 20, 2016.  He was only 50 years old.   

The death of Mr. Kearns is heartbreaking for his family.  The tragedy was compounded by the suddenness of his death, and made worse by the fact it was five days before Christmas.  You can read more about it here, courtesy of the Journal-News.

While our group had many documented issues with Mr. Kearns' time on the Board of Education and his actions while serving in that role, we certainly held no personal animosity towards him.  Mr. Kearns had a family, and no one should have to bury a father and husband at age 50.

Work was quickly set about by the district to fill the seat left vacant by Mr. Kearns' untimely passing.  A public notice was posted to the district website on the day after Christmas:

The announcement on the particulars of filling the vacant seat were published on December 26, with a deadline for application submissions December 31. If you believe that a 5 day window between Christmas and New Year's allows ample time for the best qualified field of applicants to submit paperwork to fill that Board seat, then you probably need to think about all this a little while longer.

Why the rush? The deadline could have been extended for at least a week.There was no reason to rush this appointment through in secrecy unless something untoward was going on at Fairfield. And it usually is.

The week before the January 12, 2017 Board meeting to fill the vacant seat, our group received copies of all 8 applications submitted by citizens interested in filling out the term of Jerome Kearns, which lasts until 2019.  The applicants ranged in age, experience, and background.  One was a college student.  A few were recent graduates.  One was a retired banking CEO.  And a few were district insiders with a long history of working to support tax increases; two of these cronies of the Board of Education even had the temerity to list former Superintendent Paul Otten as a reference.

The process to fill the vacant seat on the Board of Education was a sham, in our opinion.  As we have documented before, Fairfield City Schools has a nasty habit of engaging in cronyism. The candidate search to find a new Superintendent carried out by the district in Summer 2016 was a rigged farce.

It was our view that the process to fill the Board vacancy would be similarly rigged. And how right we were!

The January 12th Board meeting to fill the vacant seat started at 5 PM. That was problematic in and of itself. How many of you can get off work, pick up kids from school/daycare/babysitter, get them to practice, feed your family dinner and be at the high school for the meeting by 5 PM?

We know we can't. Most people can't.

Why was this meeting being held at 5 PM? Why was the deadline for applications December 31? Why was the meeting held tonight when it could have been pushed back for an additional week at least? Why the rush?

Well, we know why. Fairfield City Schools is likely up to no good again. But what else is new?

The Board of Education ended up selecting Carrie O'Neal as the replacement to serve out the term of Mr. Kearns.  You can read the official announcement on the district's website here.  You can view the announcement below, as well as Mrs. O'Neal's application.

 

We reviewed the Board applications carefully. There were several qualified people. There were several outsiders with a fresh set of eyes and perspective who would make ideal Board members.

But as we predicted, the insiders got the Board seat. The cronies. The folks who listed a current or former Superintendent as references. Someone who will go with the program, maintain the status quo, and not rock the boat.

It's what happened the last time an open Board seat was filled. It's what happened when the Superintendent's position needed filling.

The tone deaf echo chamber of cronyism is alive and well at Fairfield City Schools. The track record of this district proves it.

This Board of Education, which has illustrated time and time again that it has no interest in accountability when it comes to bullying, is not about to install an outsider in their midst that is sympathetic in principle towards Emilie's case or this group.

This community has been screaming for change at Fairfield City Schools.  Within the past two years, the district has been the subject of international news, a barrage of public outcry, state investigation, and a federal lawsuit.

So what does the district do?  It appoints to the Board someone who has supported and worked to assure passage of every recent expensive tax levy and bond issue.  

The new Board appointee even listed as a reference, former Superintendent Paul Otten.  This decision smacks of cronyism.  How can the Board appoint someone to it's ranks who listed as a reference, a man who conducted himself this way while leading our schools:

Using this man as a reference ought to have been a disqualifier in our opinion.  In addition to his conduct in the video above, we have detailed some of Mr. Otten's more questionable actions during his time as Superintendent at Fairfield.  The appointment to the Board of an applicant who would use Mr. Otten as a reference is a signal that change is not something on the minds of Fairfield City Schools.  Business as usual and the status quo are the order of the day.

We hold no animosity towards Mrs. O'Neal for joining the Board.  She hasn't done anything wrong.  On the bright side, she cannot possibly be as bad as the rest of the Board.  No one can.

But the fact remains Mrs. O'Neal, based on her comments thus far and application, appears to be one of many people in the community that express nearly unquestioning support for Fairfield City Schools.  We cannot find a single word in her application or any other resource that would seem to indicate she has made public any concerns about bullying problems in Fairfield, staff accountability regarding harassment, or any of the other issues that have cast a negative spotlight on the district for over two years now.

Mrs. O'Neal has expressed interest in promoting diversity, ensuring the redistricting goes smoothly, and has taken an interest in the district's health clinic.  We'll have much more to say on some of these topics in future blogs.  We wish her all the best during her time on the Board.

#JusticeforEmilie