Johnson County board member resigns, calls for internal investigation

A member of the Johnson County Board of Education announced their resignation at the board’s April 15 meeting, accusing the district of entrenched politics and calling for a formal internal investigation.

The board member, who spoke during the meeting’s recognition period, said they were first elected in 2018 and criticized long-term contracts and what they described as a "good old boy" culture in small-town government. "I have tried to the best of my ability to serve the taxpayers of this county by being honest in my decisions... I do not appreciate nor do I condone the politics nor the good old boy in philosophy that has invaded small town government," the board member said.

The speaker continued that the director of the district "has been given" powers through long contracts and that recent questioning of that director was the only time the director "stepped up" in the speaker’s view. The member said, "Therefore, this will be my last time to be a member of the Johnson County School Board for I have resigned in my position. The only way that this corruption can be corrected is for a formal internal investigation to transpire. And I cannot see that happening."

The board moved to accept the resignation during the meeting and used the minutes as the formal record of the verbal resignation. A roll-call vote recorded "yes" votes from Mister Graver, Mister Robinson and Mister Long. Board members in attendance said the board still had a quorum (three of five members) at that point in the meeting.

No timeline or further investigatory action was announced at the meeting. The resignation speaker thanked parents and county citizens for support and concluded, "May God bless you and take care of your children."