By JESSICA BRICKER
A concerned citizen of Southern Wells Community Schools would like the board of trustees to look at how to move forward after tensions spiked late last year during the contract renewal process for principals in the district.
While the contracts were approved — for Elementary School Principal Cari Whicker and Assistant Principal Jessica Killingbeck, Junior/Senior High School Principal Kim Conner and Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Dustin Beucler — a heated meeting in December 2020 has apparently continued to stick with some members of the community.
Amanda Gaskill signed up to speak at this week’s meeting of the school board, wishing to address “the big elephant in the room” regarding the division experienced in the school community between patrons, the administration and the school board during the past six months.
“It really makes me sad because it really goes against our values and our principles that we talk about here,” Gaskill said.
She said that she struggled to come up with what she wanted to say to the board members but it comes down to transparency and open communication.
“I think ultimately, we all want what’s best for our kids. We all want our community to be successful,” she said. “There isn’t one of us here that doesn’t want that because we wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t true.”
So how do they reunite in the midst of distrust, she asked. She recalled community meetings — different than school board business meetings — that had been held in the past; perhaps those could be brought back.
She had the attention of all four members of the board — Kevin Scott, Aaron Westfall, Todd Fiechter and Chad Roush — as well as Superintendent Brian Sloan. She asked that they think it over.
Scott thanked Gaskill for speaking and said they will discuss how to better present their public meeting agendas, which was another suggestion Gaskill offered.
jessica@news-banner.com
