RPS RECAP: October 16, 2023 Pt 1

Here’s a story about local government, how it’s supposed to be run, and how it’s (not) working in Richmond. It includes updates on:

  • Board Meeting Protocols

  • Facilities Conditions Assessment

  • Mold Mayhem

More to follow later this week. Let’s dive in:

Agenda Item 1.05: Adopt the Agenda

Kenya Gibson, 3rd District, sprints down the aisle towards the stage. 

“I would like to make a change!”

The meeting had started a few minutes late (waiting for more missing board members to show up) - but it had already started without her. 

There was a motion on the table to accept the agenda. That’s Robert’s Rules (RR) for we all agree on the evening’s discussions and the order they’re in.

They were mid-vote when she made it to her seat, and asked again to change the agenda. 

Changing a motion mid-vote isn’t a thing. So the clerk tells Chairwoman Rizzi, 5th District: Finish this vote; Board Members can ask to amend it afterwards.

The agenda is adopted.

Gibson makes a motion to amend the agenda. 

  • Amending the agenda before it’s adopted requires a simple majority. Amending the agenda after it’s adopted requires a ⅔ vote. (RR 41:63)

Gibson wants to add a discussion to Board Action Items.

  • Action means they will vote. As opposed to Discussion items, which mean they’ll just talk about it and vote next time.

Gibson wants the Board to vote on two safety proposals written and submitted by the teacher’s union, the Richmond Education Association (REA). 

  • Ordinarily, resolutions and policy recommendations are only made by members of the governance team. (RR 59:72)

  • But community members are “permitted to offer a resolution” - so long as a member of the governance team sponsors it, and it goes through a “resolutions committee” (RPS calls this the Policy Council). This committee reviews the recommendation, and considers its legal,  financial and practical impact. (RR 59:73)

It appears that REA’s proposals were (informally) “sponsored” by Gibson, though they had not been vetted by the Policy Council. 

Young seconds Gibson’s agenda amendment, which ensures it’ll be brought forward for a vote. There is no discussion. 

Everyone else on the Board rejects the amendment. 

Motion fails. 

Moving on.

Agenda Item 5.01: Discuss proposed school board meeting protocols and meeting procedures.

I was thrilled to see this discussion hit the agenda. I’d just rewatched an old (June 28, 2021) meeting where Nicole Jones, 9th District, presented her committee’s draft “School Board Governance Manual,” and was shocked to see how few of *their own rules* this Board follows. (I was even more shocked at the fireworks show it entailed.) 

I assumed last nights’ discussion would be some sort of recommitment to those rules, which this Board had passed two years ago; 7:2. Nay: Gibson, Young

I wasn’t far off. Chairwoman Rizzi introduced the discussion:

“Ms Burke, Mr Kamras and I consulted with the legal counsel who gave us some recommendations for how we may conduct meetings in a more efficient, streamlined manner.”

She’d emailed the Board these recommendations - emphasizing that these are recommendations, not directives - to the Board on September 20th, and hoped to receive Board input tonight.

“Dr Harris-Muhammed, this may be something you want to talk about in your Policy Committee, do you agree?”

Dr HM, 6th District - who showed up 37 minutes late, spent the whole public comment period absorbed in her laptop, and had just returned to the dias with a Door Dash meal - looked up confused.

HM: “I’m sorry, can you repeat that statement?”

Rizzi: “Yeah, I said this may be something you want to take up in your Policy Committee.”

HM: “Which part in the Policy Committee? We haven’t- just, norms in general?… Sure” (Watch)

Dr HM then made the following helpful suggestion to Chairwoman Rizzi: 

“I have a recommendation that board members share with you - via email - or however - suggestions that they may have about how we can streamline our future school board meetings… and then possibly compile what you already have from working with the attorney - I’m not sure what that is, but-”

Rizzi: “Dr Harris Muhammed, that’s in your email. September 20th is when it was emailed to you.”

HM: “Maybe we can add to that?… add to that list that’s already growing and come back or email us and say ‘hey this is what’s been suggested’ and we can send it to the Policy Committee if the Board so chooses, and then let them do the work there.” (Watch)

So basically, everything that Chairwoman Rizzi had already said and suggested. 

Dawn Page, 8th District, flags a concern. The Policy Committee doesn’t have a quorum (RR for “a majority of Board Members”). Without a quorum, the policy committee meetings do not have to be noticed or recorded. Ie: there is no record of discussion, and it all takes place outside of public view. That’s a big no-no in a system designed to ensure transparency in government. 

There’s also a concern about self-interest - since recommendations that come out of the Policy Committee would basically be whatever Dr HM wants, and she’s not exactly known for running Board Meetings efficiently or staying focused on student outcomes.

Jones has a big smile across her face (or maybe that was me) when she chimes in: 

“Maybe we should possibly revisit the STRATEGIC GOVERNANCE MANUAL that was put together in 2021 that incorporates and includes all of these [recommendations] we’re discussing right now… the governance manual is really supposed to support this governing body. Thanks.” (Emphasis is very much mine.)

Rizzi: “Fair Point. Is that something that your committee is willing to look at, Dr. Harris-Muhammed?”

Jones: “Follow up, Madam Chair… the manual was completed and submitted to VDOE and accepted by the VSBA…” 

Jones is happy to transfer her committee work to the policy committee, for whatever updates it needs, but come on you guys, we already did this! (Me again, frustrated on her behalf.) (Watch)

We don’t get much discussion on the actual recommendations, though, because Gibson hijacks the discussion with her own concerns. She chastises the Chairwoman for putting this agenda item up without attaching the lawyer’s recommendations to Board Docs - the School Board’s meeting organization platform. Discussions without this kind of transparency, Gibson says, are a “recurring theme.”

“So on Sept 30th, we received two resolutions from the Richmond Education Association …“ 

Yes, this is the agenda item she wanted the Board to add 2 hours ago. The one her Board colleagues had rejected. The Chairwoman jumps in to steer the discussion:

“Ms. Gibson, respectfully, this is not related to this topic.” 

Gibson: “This is related to uploading documentation into Board Meeting protocols. The optics don’t look good.”

Rizzi: “I feel like you are out of order.” (RR for off topic.)

Page: “Point of Order, Madam Chair” (aka, yes, off topic!)

Gibson, loudly: “You can make me quiet, but the optics don’t look good.”

Silence

Gibson: “May I continue?”

Rizzi: “If it’s related to this agenda item, of course.” (Watch)

Gibson makes a huge stretch - that the REA proposals are part of Board meeting protocols because they’re also attachments that she thinks should be on Board Docs. 

The Chairwoman relents.

Gibson goes on to tell a story about how…

The Chairwoman doesn’t dignify this accusation with any kind of response. (Watch) She does, however, volunteer to join Dr HM’s Policy Committee so that they’ll have a quorum, and that the meeting will be noticed and recorded.

Mooooving on again… 

Agenda Item 5.03: Receive facilities update and discuss proposed facilities recommendations

The Administration and the Board have been taking mold concerns very seriously. Tonight, they’ve brought a representative from the mold testing company to help answer any of their science-y questions. He’s been sitting in the audience for 154 minutes, patiently waiting through all the above Board drama.

Butttt Ms Gibson isn’t quite ready to move on, yet. (Watch)

She is the first to speak, and she motions for the Board to approve both of the REA security proposals; one for mold safety, one for fire safety. (Separate votes, fire first.)

Jonathan Young, 4th District, seconds the motion. 

The motion goes to discussion - specifically, discussion about Gibson’s motion. Mold guy waits.

White is confused. Dana Fox, RPS Chief Operating Officer, has a proposal right here that “frankly, addresses all the issues” REA is concerned about. Why not adopt the administration’s mold proposal instead? (Watch)

“I believe the motion is about fire safety - and I did want to just state - for the record - that every single Richmond Public School building has received a notice of No Violations from the Richmond Fire Department.” - Kamras

Gibson wants to read the (long) resolutions that the Chairwoman didn’t put up on Board Docs.

Rizzi is remarkably patient. You can read the transcript below, but I highly suggest you watch this whole exchange here. 

R: “The Board has VOTED. A consensus vote not to post those resolutions - based on advice from our legal counsel.”

G: “So you're not going to allow me to read the resolution regarding fire safety.”

R: “It has been - BY CONSENSUS - voted not to be made public by this Board.”

G: “The optics don’t look good. The optics do not look good. I want to give everyone on this Board the opportunity to be on the right side of history. We have had two buildings burn down… we had 190 fire violations… Someone on this board called it fake news. It is not”

Burke: “That is totally out of order”

G: “I am not out of order. I am not out of order. I am not out of order. Somebody is trying to stop - you’re trying to stop the truth”

B: “Nobody’s trying to stop-“

G: “You’re trying to stop the truth from coming out, this is the worst - this is lowest this Board has stooped to stop transparency”

[chaos]

G: “If you support the Richmond Education Association, we should be able to have a conversation - the motion has been seconded, and we are now in discussion. I am just fine, but the students deserve to be in safe schools.”

R: “Mr. Kamras just announced that every school has been deemed safe where fire safety is concerned - that is not fake news.

B: “Madam Chair, that is also an attack on my integrity.”

G: to Burke: “Did you support making these documents public?”

B: “Right now you are bullying. You are harassing… This is anti-bullying month? Well here it is.” (Watch)

Ms Page suggests Chair Rizzi read the legal counsel’s reservations about the REA resolutions. 

The new Board attorney stops her, and advises the Board not to waive their attorney-client privilege. 

Jones level-sets: 

“With all do respect to REA - which is an outside organization - yes, we adopted collective bargaining, but it was my understanding that issues related to contracts should be dealt with on that end.” 

REA is recognized by the administration - they have a collective bargaining agreement. The union’s concerns should be addressed in mediation with the administration.

Jones is flustered, but adds that funding “is the reason that we’re not addressing a lot of these concerns… Some of these suggestions are really, really - in my opinion - not regulated by the Board, and we are putting ourselves at jeopardy.” (Watch)

“I’m trying to understand - who deemed all of this stuff unsafe? This would be helpful for us as a Board… I think it would be helpful to have some information that speaks to - clearly specifies - what is safe and what is deemed unsafe.” (Watch)

The Fire Chief said that schools reopened safely. The mold guy - when he eventually gets to talk (I know, remember him? I bet you’d forgotten!) - he’ll tell us that schools are safe, too. He’ll say that all the extra testing is “overkill” and that there are lots of these kinds of mold cited in the reports, which would be toxic if airborne, but it is not. Surfaces have been cleaned, and ceiling tiles have been replaced.

The Schools are safe. Old, expensive to maintain, but the experts keep telling the Board and the public that the division is responding appropriately. 

As for the optics not looking good? “We pay to get [legal] advice, and this is what we were advised to do.” (Jones)

Gibson sprinkles her word salad with “aghast” and “scandal” and again suggests the board is “vehemently opposed” to transparency. Then she turns and gestures to the news cameras, who I suspect she’s really been talking to all along, and apologizes that the Board won’t share the REA proposals. Says they won’t do the bare minimum.

“I, Ms. Fox, Mr Hathaway, we take these issues very seriously. We do our best to immediately address those issues.” - Kamras

Gibson, loudly: “Respectfully, Mr. Kamras, we were told there was extreme neglect. EXTREME neglect.”

Dr Harris-Muhammed must be paying attention now, because she jumps to the mic to “call the question” - that’s Robert’s Rules for oh my gosh you guys, shut up already and vote! 

It should have ended discussion - and for a second, it looked like it did, and like we’d all get a 5 minute break to cool down. 

Instead, Young, who has been waiting patiently to speak echoes Gibson’s earlier comments, saying we owe it to the children of Fox to pass this resolution.

Ms White, who had asked for an emergency Board meeting after the Fox fire - TWICE- and had been denied by this Board - TWICE - isn’t having any of this “Fox this, Fox that” nonsense.

“I’m not sure what my colleague is doing here - gaslighting, or whatever you’re doing - but this is MY school. I take care of my 2nd district schools. You worry about 3rd district schools. Are you going in those to see what their safety is like?” (Watch)

They vote.

Yes: Gibson, Young

No: Doerr, White, Rizzi, Burke, Page, Jones. 

Abstain: Harris-Muhammed

Motion fails. 

The night’s not over. The drama’s not, either. Gibson will again throw jabs at the administration during the Facilities Condition Assessment. But this is where we’ll end for today:

It’s almost 9PM. Beyond the academic team’s compelling presentation on graduation - a call-to-action to rethink how we address our struggling English Language Learners, who come to this country overage and under-accredited, and desperately need an alternative pathway to career readiness, certifications, or a diploma - the entire Board meeting has been hijacked to discuss a resolution that…

  • The lawyer said not to publicize due to financial unknowns and fear that it yields an irresponsible level of control to the teacher’s union.

  • The Board said not to publicize due to financial unknowns and fear that it yields an irresponsible level of control to the teacher’s union.

  • The Board said not to add to the agenda.

  • The Chairwoman said not to bring up during governance talks.

  • The Chairwoman said not to read into the record, much less during Science Guy’s mold presentation.

  • And the Board repeatedly tried to move past (“Call to Order”) in order to discuss actual Board business.

Our kids lost 3 hours of our leader’s focus. The kids lost 3 hours of important discussions about their academics and their futures. The kids lost 3 hours of updates about the Career and Technical Education center to-come. 

The kids lost tonight; all because one Board member would not follow Robert’s Rules of Order, legal advice, or the governance manual the Board adopted two years ago, which - by the way - says:

“We will hear each opinion, but ultimately act as one. We will speak candidly and courteously to each other and listen to dissenting or different viewpoints with an open mind. We will help each other to depersonalize disagreements. Once we reach a decision or compromise as a board, we will each support the will of the board in word.” (pg 15)

I’ll be back with updates on all the actual student-centered stuff later this week; but this unrelenting and intentional distraction needs to be seen and acknowledged for the harm it is doing to this division, and all of the children in it. 

We are stuck with this chaos-agent for another year; but it seems that our Chairwoman and (most of) her Board Colleagues are committed to returning order to these meetings, and focus to our kids. 

It was an absolute embarrassment, and - I hope - a true turning point in Board alliances and boundary-setting.

“We care deeply about our schools - and our students and our teachers. So that narrative [Gibson’s] needs to die right here.” Chairwoman

Becca DuVal