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Nome Public Schools board approves principal’s recommendation for permanent expulsion after closed session
Summary
At a Jan. 27 special meeting, the Nome Public Schools Board of Education voted to approve a principal’s recommendation for permanent expulsion after an executive session; the vote was 4–1, with one dissent. The board also heard a public comment about a missing raffle donation and agreed to move the Feb. 10 meeting start time to 6 p.m.
The Nome Public Schools Board of Education voted Jan. 27 to approve a principal’s recommendation for a student’s permanent expulsion following a closed-door executive session.
Marjorie Kunaq Tahbone, president of the Nome Public Schools Board of Education, called the special meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the NES Library. After the board entered executive session at 6:44 p.m. to discuss matters described in the minutes as those that “tend to prejudice the reputation and character of any person,” the board reconvened at 8:07 p.m. and acted on the principal’s recommendation. Member Jon Gregg moved to approve the recommendation; the motion carried by roll-call vote with Tahbone, Darlene Trigg, Gregg and Sigvanna Tapqaq recorded as voting yes and Nancy Mendenhall recorded as voting no.
The vote was recorded in the public minutes but the minutes do not include the student’s name or details of the allegations discussed in executive session. The minutes identify the legal basis for the closed meeting as reputational/character matters but do not list specific statutes or the content of the principal’s recommendation. Member Nancy Mendenhall registered the sole dissent on the final motion.
Before the executive session, community member and parent Joe Fullwood addressed the board during public comment to report that a gold item he and another miner had donated for a boys basketball raffle went missing after it was handed to the person collecting donations; the minutes note the winner did not receive the prize. The minutes do not record a board response or any follow-up action about the missing donation.
During the public portion after the vote, Member Sigvanna Tapqaq congratulated Hazel Rhodes on winning the Spelling Bee and requested a work session focused on the district’s dropout rate. Tapqaq also asked that the Board Policy Review Committee examine expulsion policies. Member Darlene Trigg said she is attending a National School Boards Association meeting in Washington, D.C., and said her budget questions were intended to inform testimony to the state legislature; she also announced that AASB Executive Director Lon Garrison will retire after the year. Superintendent Jamie Burgess said she would attend the AASB Legislative Fly-In in Juneau with Member Tapqaq and asked the board to move the Feb. 10 regular meeting start time to 6:00 p.m.; the board agreed.
The board listed upcoming meetings for Feb. 10 (regular, 6:00 p.m., NES Library/Zoom), Feb. 24 (work session, 5:30 p.m.), March 10 (regular, 5:30 p.m., NES Library/Zoom) and March 24 (work session, 5:30 p.m.). President Tahbone moved to adjourn, and the meeting ended at 8:16 p.m.
The public minutes do not disclose details of the executive session discussion or the expulsion’s underlying facts; the board’s directive that the policy committee review expulsion rules was recorded and may lead to further public discussion or policy proposals at a future work session.
