LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Over the last two weeks, new board member Darbi Boddy has been censured and asked to resign by the rest of the Lakota school board and was issued a notice of trespassing from Lakota Local Schools.
At Monday night's meeting, Boddy read a statement reaffirming that she would not resign and her intention to continue serving on the board.
In the statement that took less than a minute to read, Boddy thanked parents and community members for "calling on me to stand firm for what they see as a political attack," an apparent reference to her recent censure and the call by the others on the board for her to step down.
She went on to assert that "critical race theory is alive and well in programs and teaching at Lakota" as a few audience members objected. Boddy added that she would be "proposing meaningful community conversations" on the theory, which Lakota administrators have repeatedly said is not taught in the district.
Boddy is allowed on school property for official board business, district spokesperson Betsy Fuller confirmed to The Enquirer Monday morning. Without prior authorization, Boddy could be met with legal action if she attempts to enter a Lakota school building.
The censure and formal resignation request from Boddy's fellow board members came in late April after Boddy posted a typo on Facebook that led to a pornographic website. She wrote that students were being presented with inappropriate sexual materials at school, a claim the district and other board members said is false.
As for the board's motions, they have "no practical effect" on Boddy, her ability to act as an elected official, her compensation, or her board voting rights, said Jennifer Hardin, senior deputy director of legal services at the Ohio School Boards Association
The district's notice of trespassing was a response to Boddy's "unannounced" visits to two district buildings, which Superintendent Matt Miller said was not "the first time she has disrupted learning in our schools." District officials said Boddy walked through school hallways without giving notice and without the accompaniment of school principals, as is district policy.
At Monday's meeting, Boddy reasserted what she wrote Friday in a Facebook post: that she has "no intentions of resigning."
She said she is "always respectful and professional" when entering school buildings and told school staff that "it is not necessary" for her to wait for school principals since both their time and hers are limited and "I could see what I needed to see on my own." Boddy wrote she has never snuck into a school building and was "never told or warned not to go in the schools."
"I will continue to honor my campaign pledges that include transparency and an understanding of the culture and learning experience that our children are exposed to in the halls and classrooms of our district," the post reads.
An online petition to censure Boddy has more than 1,600 signatures and continues to gain support after the board voted to censure her.
"She is demeaning the integrity of the entire Lakota Staff," the petition, which was created in late March, reads. "This behavior must not be tolerated and should not be allowed to continue."
What is censure?
A censure is "a public expression of the rest of the board's disapproval," Hardin said. "It's usually done to try to bring that board member back into compliance."
It doesn't remove Boddy from office.
The request for her resignation doesn't do that either, and Boddy has since posted that she has no intention of stepping down.
Hardin said it is "fairly uncommon" to censure or request the resignation of a board member, though she said the association doesn't track such motions.
The association offers professional development activities aimed at promoting collegiality "and the ability to work together effectively," she said.
Lakota board president Lynda O'Connor and board member Isaac Adi most recently attended the association's board leadership institute this past weekend, Fuller said.
"To my knowledge, Mrs. Boddy has not participated in any of these opportunities," Fuller said.
Boddy was the lone no vote in January when the board renewed its membership in the association.
What other actions could be taken?
There is nothing else the board can do to prevent Boddy from participating in official school board business, Hardin said.
School board members cannot be recalled under Ohio law.
The General Assembly has enacted authorization for a court to remove public officeholders, including school board members, from their roles for misconduct. Reasons for removal could include abuse of power, neglect, gross immorality, drunkenness, misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance, according to Ohio law.
There have been many removal cases in the state, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. In 2004, three members of the Madison-Plains Local School District board were removed for violating the Open Meetings Act and paying two teachers who were not properly certified.
To remove an elected school board member, a written complaint would need to be filed in the court of common pleas with signatures from qualified electors equal to at least 15% of the total vote cast for the board member. The complaint would then go to a court hearing for a final decision by a judge.
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