Residents urge cooler tone and question hiring, vacancy process at Little Miami board meeting

Several residents used the Little Miami Board of Education public-comment period to urge the board to set a standard for public discourse and to raise concerns about hiring decisions and board vacancy procedures.

Vanessa Sreekantham, a Little Miami resident, told the board that recent public discussion around a district lawsuit has escalated and is drawing students into adult conflicts. "Students are now being drawn into an adult conflict," she said, urging trustees to "lead where you do have authority in setting expectations" so that disagreements are not modeled in personal or accusatory terms for students.

During the same public-comment period, Robert Farrington said he applied in March to be a district bus driver and was denied after his FBI background check showed a 24‑year‑old conviction. Farrington asserted the district applied the wrong legal standard in rejecting his application and told the board: "Little Miami is using the wrong law to hire drivers." He asked the board to review the hiring standard and noted other districts had accepted similar applicants.

Also during public comment, residents praised Superintendent Regina Morgan for being named the local Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year and criticized the board’s initial handling of the recent vacancy selection process. Attendees noted Judge Kirby has taken responsibility for interviewing all applicants and is scheduling interviews through next week.

Board members did not resolve the hiring dispute on the record; the meeting moved into executive session later to confer with the board attorney about disputes that are the subject of pending or imminent court action.