Parents and community chastise board decisions on AP course, legal counsel and mask policy

Several residents used the board's public‑comment period on June 16 to criticize recent trustees’ actions on curriculum, legal counsel and public‑health policies.

James Ernest told trustees he had obtained emails under FOIA that, he said, show the board president "conspiring for months to invite the Cullman law firm into this district" and urged the president to resign. He also opposed the board’s apparent dismissal of staff recommendations on an Advanced Placement human geography course, calling it a "betrayal of the public trust."

"The assertion that we don't have geography class and our students can't identify these places on a map is ridiculous," former board member Jason Seguin told trustees, directly disputing the characterization credited to the board president and urging the board to follow policies that assign course and textbook recommendations to the superintendent (policies 2220 and 2510, as cited by Seguin).

Erica Mulholland, a district parent, urged trustees to rely on licensed educators and their professional recommendations and criticized efforts she described as politically motivated. Mulholland also defended mask policies as a public‑health measure and questioned the district's interest in replacing long‑standing counsel with a firm she described as politicized.

Trustees did not take formal action in response to the FOIA allegation during the meeting. The discussion underscored continuing public tension over curriculum choices, attorney selection and how board decisions align with staff recommendations and established policies.