Political Finger Pointing Taking Over School Mold Fuss

by LARRY SOBCZAK, Observer Staff Writer

Washington Elementary School parents and teachers have put fire under the School Board and administrators to expedite the reopening of the school. Meanwhile, political overtones were heard among comments and criticism made at Thursday's special board meeting Thursday.

This is in contrast to previous meetings about the school, which became raucous as worried parents peppered the school board and especially the district's administrators with questions and accusations. Thursday's meeting was different in that audience members divided into two distinct camps.

One group was critical of the school board while the other was critical of the administration. School Board President Kathy Wreford twice used her gavel to quiet the crowd and there were at least a half dozen times when audience members would engage in light heckling.

Washington Township resident Jan Parton who watched Thursday's board meeting in the Romeo High School auditorium said she did not want the school board to make decisions based on politics. "I've noticed that this is looking like a political game and I hope our kids are not pawns,'' she said.

The school board also seemed to divide into two groups as observed by Washington teacher Pauline Anderson. She was concerned that individuals were plotting to save political face or their careers instead of fixing mold problems at the school.

"It appears there is a power struggle going on here. Is this going to be a mold clean-up or a mold cover-up,'' she asked. Perhaps, a good indicator of the divide on the board as well as its source is a motion Trustee Linda Southby made to reaffirm Superintendent John Kingsnorth's role as the district's chief administrator and to instruct board members to contact vendors and contractors through him.

Treasurer Ed Bennett and Trustee Terry Raubacher voted in favor of the motion while Wreford, board Vice President Ken Monicatti, Secretary Dick Hill and Trustee Sue Hier voted against the motion.

However, Bennett and Raubacher do not appear to be firm political allies to Southby. She is often alone on issues dealing with the school and her motions often fail because she is the only person voting for it or they die from lack of support.

Southby's accusations of other board members trying to micromanage Kingsnorth and the audiences accusations of political games drew a response from Hier: "I hope the administration has learned from this board that this is a process to follow.''

She said that the board had to take action because it appeared the administration was not dealing with the perceived problems at Washington. "The delay of this action (the cleaning of the school) is the result of the administration. They sat on it for weeks . . . It's not a power struggle. It's not about right or wrong,'' she said.

Her statement, which was longer than quoted here, drew a standing ovation from some members of the crowd while others sat in their seats. Hill said that if the board was pursuing political games, he was embarrassed to be sitting in front of the crowd as a member of the school board.

"I didn't get elected to the board to nail somebody to the wall,'' he said. Romeo resident Dick Fay said that he does not want to see politics in dealing with the problems at Washington Elementary School. "It serves us no purpose at all. It (politics) was better left at the door,'' he said.

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