Western Heights conflict deepens
Competing school board agendas sow confusion
Once again, a Western Heights Board of Education meeting descended into conflict and confusion.
Two competing agendas had been posted for the same meeting, one by state-installed Interim Superintendent Monty Guthrie and the other by Board President Robert Everman.
Attendees at the contentious meeting Monday evening found Everman’s
version taped to the front window of John Glenn Elementary, where the board convened in the cafeteria. Guthrie's agenda was posted online to the school district's website, and copies were printed and stacked on a table inside the entrance of the meeting room.
Both agendas claimed to have been publicly posted Friday afternoon.
The gulf between Guthrie and Everman became apparent as the board president orchestrated the meeting according to his arrangement, leaving an incredulous crowd unsure of what items had even been approved.
Everman and fellow board members Rosalind Cravens, Linda Farley and Robert Sharp delayed and OK'd items at will in an order that was nonsensical to exasperated attendees, who had only the superintendent's version of the agenda in hand.
Frustrations boiled until the end of the evening, when most board members left to a chorus of shouts and jeers — a scene that has become common at meetings in the district.
The state Board of Education has called for Everman to resign, calling him a "cancer" to the school district.
As usual, Everman declined to speak with reporters after the meeting.
Briana Flatley, the only board member who agreed to talk with media, said she was unaware Everman planned to change the agenda until she arrived at the meeting.
“I was blindsided completely,” she said. Claiming Guthrie had not provided them with adequate information ahead of time, board members tabled key votes that could have hired 44 new employees for the staff-strapped school district and another item that could have resolved a two-year impasse in negotiations with Western Heights' unionized teachers.
The proposed contract with the local teachers' union offered signing bonuses and two years of pay raises that district teachers missed out on earlier while negotiations stalled. It is highly unusual for an Oklahoma school district to reach an impasse with its unionized teachers, let alone remain in one for two years.
Guthrie and Flatley said Everman's repeated claims that information wasn't available before the meeting were false. Both said details on all votes had been posted online for the board members to access, a practice that is common for school boards.
“When you refuse to open up the information that's sent to you online to prepare for the meeting, it's very difficult to have an organized meeting,” Guthrie said. “I will provide all of the paperwork in writing, hand-delivered, to make sure that we can prepare for a meeting (next time) and make sure that everyone knows exactly what is expected of them.”
Flatley said she felt well prepared to participate after reading through the information packet online.
“I just don't feel that we needed to table any issue,” she said. “There was nothing that couldn't have been voted on tonight if they utilized the resources that we as board members had access to.”
It was the latest twist in an ongoing saga for Western Heights, a southwest Oklahoma City district that's been steeped in dysfunction for two years.
Conflict deepened over the summer when the Oklahoma State Board of Education voted to suspend the certification of Superintendent Mannix Barnes, citing fiscal mismanagement and retaliatory behavior, among numerous other concerns.
The Western Heights school board responded by giving Barnes a $25,000 bonus and extending his contract for another three years.
The state Board of Education voted July 12 to appoint an interim superintendent and take over operations of the school district, which had lost hundreds of students and nearly 40% of its employees since Barnes took charge in 2019.
State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister chose Guthrie, then the state's deputy superintendent of finance and federal programs, to lead Western Heights for the next year.
But, the local school board attempted to thwart the state action by challenging it in court and appointing an interim superintendent of its own choosing.
Oklahoma County District Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons struck down much of Western Heights' lawsuit and ordered the district to accept Guthrie and the state takeover.
“It appears to be a mess, financially, operationally and in every other way I can think of,” Timmons said.
An attorney for the district, Jerry Colclazier, appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court. A Supreme Court referee heard arguments in the case Tuesday morning. The Court will decide whether to take on the case after reviewing filings and the referee's report.
Regardless of Timmons' order to accept the state appointee, Everman led a majority vote Monday evening to block Guthrie's yearlong interim superintendent contract, making a motion to "not do this at this time" because of pending litigation.
When Guthrie asked whether the motion was to table or deny the contract, Everman said it was "a no for now."
Despite controversy at the board meeting, Guthrie said Western Heights will continue to operate normally, with children attending school and staff coming in to work.
“I'm going do everything I can to provide the best possible education for these kids and provide a stable work environment for our employees,” he said. “We can do that.”
Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinezkeel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.