Brandon Twp.-The Brandon School Board voted March 8, to take no action on a resolution asking for the resignation of Janet Thomas, the last Oakland Schools Board of Education member remaining from the former superintendent’s tenure.
The Board voted four to two (Kenneth Quisenberry, absent) regarding the resolution from the Oakland County School Board Associaton Board of Directors (OCSBA), which represents all 28 Oakland County School Districts.
‘I voted ‘No? for several reasons. I believe the Oakland County School Board Association Board of Directors should have asked the local boards to pass the resolution before taking a position, not after,? said Beth Nuccio, Brandon School Board president, who voted for no action.
‘I also believe that we all need to take responsibility for the problems at Oakland Schools. The Association was just as silent as Thomas appeared to be during the Redmond administration. Thirdly, if Thomas were to step down there would be no quorum, which means the Oakland County School Board would be unable to conduct any business. Fourth, a board is only as effective as the administration that they are working with. Janet Thomas did not have anadministration that was trustworthy.?
In a letter to the Brandon Board of Education and other Oakland school boards the OCSBA Board of Directors met with OISD Treasurer Janet Thomas and Vice President Carol Borich. During that meeting, the board expressed concerns brought to them by a number of local boards, concerns about impending legislation, concerns about the fact that the board members have become the issue, and concerns about the collective ability to move forward. Since that meeting both Carol Borich and DiAnne Cagle Leitermann have submitted their letters of resignation.
‘We need someone down there to explain what went on at the ISD,? said Karyn Milligan, Brandon School Board Secretary who voted with Nuccio to take no action on the measure. ‘An experienced person like Janet can help a new board. They need to draw on her background. This is not the time for a clean slate.?
Brandon School Board Trustee Nancy Strohschein, along with Christopher Yuchasz, voted for action on the resolution.
‘I would not have minded we take action,? said Yuchasz.
‘I think she (Janet Thomas) seems to be the lightning rod. She thinks she can make it better by staying having been through all the problems, when she could make it better by leaving. I would like her to resign. You try to do the right thing.?
The Oakland Intermediate School District has been subject to investigations into financial wrongdoing over the past several months.
The allegations have prompted Michigan lawmakers, led by Rep. Ruth Johnson (R-Groveland Township) to draft several proposed changes to help make the state’s 57 Intermdiate School Districts more accountable.
The issues include millions of dollars in no-bid contracts, spending $9 million in special education money on a fiber-optic network and construction of a $30-million administration building after a tax increase was approved by voters in September 2001.