Mt. View reorg brings wave of warnings

BY TOM FONTANA
Correspondent

Mountain View School board sailed through its annual reorganization Monday night, Dec. 1, but not without a few shots fired across the bow.

Those shots were mostly aimed at board president Thomas Stoddard, who was reelected by a close five to four vote. Jason Richmond, serving his first term on the board, was the other nominee, whose name was thrown in the ring by his fellow board rookie, Jason Casselbury.

The decisive choice on holding the helm might have belonged to director Michael Barhite, who voted for Stoddard, for which he offered a near-apology to a board room packed with guests, followed by a warning and a promise.

“I guess I should say something, but I’m not sure where to start,” Barhite began.

“I know a lot of you are upset (by my vote),” he continued. “But I will prove to you that (Stoddard) doesn’t run the show. He’s lost without us. This board doesn’t function without all of us. I know I was the straw that broke the camel’s back tonight. If I had more time, I would have gladly served as board president.”

Director Christine Plonski-Sezar, who was selected second vice president by a five-to-four vote over Sondra Stine, quickly spoke up in agreement. “We have to work as a unit, not a split board,” she stated. “We’re going to get everything back on track.”

She added praise for the district, and the virtues of being a Mountain View graduate, relating her respect and concern for the teachers, who are stalled in a two-year contract negotiation with the district.

Stine focused comments on those negotiations. “Let’s get back to the table,” she said, “and get this contract settled!”

Director Roy Twining will serve as first vice president, winning 5-4 over Stine. Ellen Aherne was also nominated for the position, but declined.

A member of the public then complained that the board meeting agendas are not available to the public until the day of the meeting, not giving enough time to be reviewed.

“There might be something on the agenda that a person would like to address at the meeting,” she said, “but by the time they see the agenda, they don’t have time to get a babysitter so they can attend the meeting that night.”

Stoddard replied that the agenda is a “moving target,” suggesting that it changes often before a meeting and can’t be finalized until Monday morning.

“That’s a lie!” Richmond stated. “The board agreed to hold back the agenda so people couldn’t go on Facebook and gather in groups to come to the meeting about a specific issue.”

None of the board members could remember that decision being made either in a public meeting or executive session. All agreed that every effort should be made that some form of the agenda be made available to the public by the Friday before the next Monday meeting.

Committee selections were made by Stoddard as follows: Finance — Twining chair, with Kilmer and Richmond; Personnel — Plonski-Sezar chair, with Aherne and Casselbury; Policy — Plonski-Sezar chair, with Stine and Richmond; Education — Aherne chair, with Stine and Casselbury; Buildings & Site — Barhite chair, with Twining and Stine; Transportation — Kilmer, with Barhite and Casselbury; Labor Relations — (MVEA) Stoddard chair, with Plonski-Sezar, Aherne, Barhite; (MVESPA) Stoddard chair, with Twining, Kilmer, Richmond.

The board approved the settlement of litigation with former district superintendent Francine Shea, but details of the agreement were not yet available to the public.

“She has seven days to accept the settlement,” Stoddard explained. “At the end of the seven days, the complete agreement can be made public.”