By Gretchen Garrity
The Ozark School District monthly board meeting is tonight at the Ozark Innovation Center, 1600 W. Jackson St., in Ozark. It begins at 7 p.m. Citizens will be interested in the following:
From local grassroots activist Michael Hope:
"It appears one of the Ozark School Board members has already moved out of the district and plans to resign. It's been reported that he also intends to delay the announcement of his resignation until after the filing period for School Board candidates closes--with the intent that doing so will permit his fellow remaining board members to appoint his successor instead of leaving it to the public to elect his successor...
Does he really have such contempt for the public that he would plan to bypass the democratic process which conveys their choice?
This intention appears to be widely known within the board, and board members seem to have been anticipating this."
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| As of Dec. 19, 2024 at 10:41 a.m. Still on the school's website |
Hope questions Calloway's seeming preference for the board to choose his successor rather than have Ozark voters choose the next board member. Who on the board is going along with this travesty, and who is opposing this non-democratic tactic? Is this ethical? Legal?
Hope finishes up: "Wherever its origin, this plan is a clear reflection of the elitist mentality that the board fosters among its members with their obvious contempt for the public."
If Ozark School District Board Member Guy Calloway has indeed relocated out of the district, he is bound to follow district policy and do the right thing: Resign and allow another candidate to have time to file for his board position. It is the right thing to do. It is the ethical and moral and legal thing to do.
That both Calloway and some on the Board may be conspiring to prevent voters from having a say in electing a replacement is a grave indictment of their fitness to serve the students, parents, and taxpayers.
Here is the stated policy in the Ozark School District Handbook:
"The Board believes that any citizen who seeks election or appointment to the Board of Education should do so with full knowledge of and appreciation for the investment of time, effort and dedication expected of all Board members and the intention to serve a full term of office.
If a Board member decides to resign prior to the end of the term of office for reasons of health,
relocation outside the district or any other compelling reason, the Board requests the earliest possible
notification of intent to resign so that it may plan to fill the vacant seat. [Bolding added]
A Board member who resigns shall file a letter of resignation with the Board secretary, who shall forward it to the Board and list the issue on the agenda for the next Board meeting. The Board shall declare a vacancy exists when the resignation letter is officially presented to the Board at a Board meeting."
This must be corrected immediately and a public apology from Calloway and his fellow conspirators on the school board should be forthcoming.
UPDATE: Calloway has apparently now resigned. Exposure will do that. ;-) Time is short for any candidates to file for his position. Please call the Ozark School District for limited hours to file: (417) 582-5900.
UPDATE 2: These are the limited hours for filing: Friday, Dec. 20th during business hours and December 31st from 3-5 p.m. Now the sad thing about this is that the board has known for some time that Calloway was relocating to Florida. Rumors have been floating around for months. Yet, still today on the district's website is the image above that states there are two board slots open.
 | From left: Guy Calloway, James Griffin, Amber Bryant, Sarah Orr, Christina Tonsing, Mark Jenkins, Dustin Kirkman Photo: Ozark Tigers | |||
