Turmoil erupts after board cuts public comment session

A war of words that has been escalating in recent months between Charles City school officials and a handful of persistent school system critics erupted into a full-blown confrontation at last week’s School Board meeting.

Critics reacted angrily after the board voted to amend future agendas by permanently removing a portion of its monthly meetings set aside for public comment on non-agenda items. The measure goes into effect at the board’s May meeting.

In the furor that ensued, board chairman Roy Campbell ordered one critic to leave the speaker’s podium and sit down and ejected another from the meeting.

No discussion of the issue took place among board members in the time between a motion being made and the vote taken. When questioned later, Campbell denied that board members had violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act by discussing the matter in closed session.

Reacting to the vote during what apparently was the final public comment session on non-agenda items, county resident Peter Churins labeled Charles City schools “a closed system” that deflects criticism using “defensive routines.” He pressed the board to apply for federal grant money for low-performing schools, a program that could require administrators to be fired. Churins has taken aim at superintendent Janet Crawley.

Another resident, Steve Fuhrmann, who ran unsuccessfully for a School Board seat in 2007, held nothing back in blasting the board’s action.

“You are refusing to allow citizens to redress grievances or make comments that are different from you or what you believe,” Fuhrmann charged, adding, “This is very bothersome. I’m not a tea partier, but this is what the Tea Party movement is all about.”

“State law does not require us to have public comment sessions at all,” Campbell shot back. “Things have gotten a little bit out of hand. We just want to put things back in perspective.”

Fuhrmann fired another salvo as he walked away from the microphone. “The constitutional right of American citizens is to seek redress of grievances,” he shouted back at the board.

“Let me help you, brother,” Campbell replied.

“You can’t help that man,” said board member Royce Paige.

Campbell berated Fuhrmann over frequent complaints Fuhrmann has lodged concerning school spending in times of an economic crisis and unspent money that has surfaced in past school budgets, including $600,000 last year He then told Fuhrmann, “You may have a seat.”

Other board members weighed in on the controversy.

“I take offense to the insinuation our superintendent is incompetent and the school system inferior,” Barbara Crawley said.

“I, for one, know you have been a very competent superintendent or you wouldn’t have been here this long,” she told the superintendent.

Other comments followed, prompting Churins to engage in a brief shouting match with board members from his seat in the auditorium. On Campbell’s order, Churins walked out of the meeting.

The School Board’s action, meanwhile, also bars the public from bringing handouts into the meeting room without prior approval. Fuhrmann, a meeting regular, usually distributes copies of his comments made during the public sessions to school officials and those in the audience. Frequently, those comments have been e-mailed to the Chronicle as letter to the editor submissions. In recent months, Churins has been attending regularly and, as he did at last week’s meeting, distributing copies of his comments.

In the past, board members have politely thanked critics for their comments, but matters began to deteriorate at the board’s March 16 meeting. Reacting to words from critics, board members vigorously defended the superintendent and its budget actions.

Not affected by last week’s board decision is a public comment session restricted to items found on the agenda. When contacted later, Campbell said anyone who wishes to speak on other topics could do so by reserving a place on the agenda.

“We have channels people can utilize to get anything on the agenda they like, and we encourage them to do that,” he said. “They can just call up the superintendent, say what they want, and be put on the agenda.

“But we’ve got to use some discretion on what goes on the agenda,” he added.

Campbell said past boards at one time allowed only a single public comment session but added the second for non-agenda items in an attempt to increase community involvement. Recently, he said, matters have gotten out of hand, and eliminating non-agenda comment is a move to restore order.

“Nobody’s being left out and not allowed to speak,” he said, adding there is no deadline for submitting requests to appear on the agenda.

“As long as we have time to type [the agenda] up,” he said. “We’re here to accommodate.”