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Residents urge board to back teachers, improve transparency during public comment
Summary
During public comment, multiple residents criticized recent board actions on Prop C, staff contracts and library inquiries and urged support for public education, targeted pay raises and professional development.
During the public-comment portion of Monday's Lee's Summit R-VII board meeting, several speakers urged the board to support educators, be transparent and prioritize academic and staff needs over political rhetoric.
Erin Gregory, identifying herself as a Lee's Summit parent and taxpayer, opened the period with a broad critique of the board's recent actions: "If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything," she said, and later accused some board members of "pandering to extreme partisan groups." Gregory criticized the board for opposing placement of Prop C on the ballot earlier in the year and for questioning library staff without what she called adequate preparation.
Devoya Marshall of Strengthening Education Together described an experience a substitute teacher had in a district building and said the board's votes against some professional development and social-emotional learning measures amounted to votes "against students and against public education." Marshall urged voters to consider candidates who back staff and inclusive learning.
Other commenters made a range of points. Leon Wetherbee thanked board members for their service and highlighted advocacy work by board officers at the state level; Bess Hales, a district French teacher, asked the board to continue focusing resources on academics and highlighted the district's high number of State Seal of Biliteracy recipients as evidence of strengths in bilingual education. Donna Gordon warned that large numbers of delinquent property tax listings could strain the local housing market and urged the board to consider community tax burdens when deliberating district funding.
Nikki Nickens called for accountability from elected officials, pointing to two recent instances where she said a group of board members changed votes within days: the decision about placing the proxy question on the ballot and a contract-extension vote. Nickens urged the public to press state legislators at a planned legislative breakfast on whether they would support public schools and the state foundation formula.
Speakers represented a mix of parents, teachers and local advocates. The board's public comment rules (policy BDDH) were read at the meeting's outset; the board does not respond to comments during the meeting but may pursue follow-up with the superintendent.
