If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him. â Cardinal Richelieu
Absolutism, centralized control, and crushing any sign of disagreement were the hallmark traits of the French CarÂdinal Richelieu in the early 1600s. In many ways, Richelieu was considered the father of the modern nation-state, the organizer of the centralized government under the French Monarch, and the originator of the secret police. While not so sweeping in their goals as the French Cardinal, the Custer County School Board has taken a chapter from his methods and has been working for months to bring the disÂtributed power of the public-elected Board and centralize it under a single crushing mandate; donât question the school board or you will be removed.
To say that the School Board, dominated by Board President Reggie Foster and Director Jennifer Kriegh, has embarked on an unprecedented campaign of micromanÂagement of the school would be an understatement. For example, Kriegh used her position on the School Board to become a substitute teacher, an act that in the past would have gone against policy, but she helped change that policy last year despite warnings of how that could backfire. Imagine working next to someone who can terminate your job and future here in the Valley on a whim.
Foster is more complicated to understand, but at the heart of her motivation is that she applied for the SuperÂintendent Job in the past and did not get the job. Clearly, as Board President, she feels that she is in charge of every aspect of the school and is rankled that her position is unpaid. She started in the Valley as the Propagandist in Chief for Commissioner Bill Canda as the County Public Information Officer during the pandemic with opening lines in her press releases such as âOur brave and honorable Commissionersâ when they defied state orders and laws.
This attitude toward board micro-management is almost without parallel in the state and is unfathomable to former local board members who still live in the region. State custom is that board membersâ jobs are to set policy budgets, and monitor the progress of administrators and overall school performance. While not against the law, it is widely understood that school board members should not be micromanaging staff in the school halls.
What is against the law, is the complete abandonment of the Colorado Open Meeting Law as the board has brazenly completed a coup against the current administration, SuperÂintendent Thom Peck and the High School Principal Aundrea McCormick, entirely outside of the public view last week. While the emails from Board President Foster use words such as âtransparency,â the space between the lines drips with her self-righteousness and signals to staff and the public alike that they are irrelevant to her plans for the School District.
One of the many roles of any government is first to act prudently, as the harm of ignoring both customs and the law can cause upheavals that are hard to predict ahead of time. âFirst do no harmâ is an oath that many take in the medical professions, and it applies equally to elected govÂernments, even those as small as the Custer County School Board. However, Foster and Kriegh have shown no ability to act prudently since they were sworn into office in JanuÂary of 2023. For these two, having the school in a constant state of drama and turmoil seems to be the goal. First, they rid themselves of Superintendent Crabtree, hired another one, and proceeded to spend months trying to get the man they hired to resign through secrecy while ignoring state law. They have further undertaken a needless campaign of changing and updating nearly every policy in the School in such a haphazard way that it is not possible to keep track of the changes they are making, or know if any of the changes are legal. For example, they are changing, or have changed, rules that school board members can start getting paid for their time or can have themselves hired by the school district. Lastly, the two have taken it upon themselves to chastise staff in the school hallways if they see something that they disagree with.
The special school board meeting last Wednesday, which lasted a whole 20 minutes, was a breathtaking display of self-righteous power grabbing. While the Board maintains that the paid administrative leave is to investigate if the Superintendent and the High School Principal broke any laws in not performing a background check correctly, it was apparent to almost everyone that this was a process of scapegoating a person they have been trying to get rid of for months. âIf you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.â Hang them they did in the meeting.
Of course, the irony and farce of the meeting was that while the Board was claiming to be investigating if any laws were broken, they were themselves breaking state Open Meeting Laws for a second time in the past few months. With almost no discussion, the Board replaced the Superintendent and the High School Principal with a husband and wife team who, confusingly, was the headÂhunter that helped get Peck hired in the first place. Adding insult to injury, the Board has not done a background check on these two individuals they selected, which is the very law-breaking behavior they claim to be investigating.
This type of totalitarian, petty, and childlike behavior has already caused immense damage to a school that has been the victim of the board micromanaging for over a year and a half. Teachers are putting in resignations, parents are moving children to different districts next year, and the school finances are becoming increasingly stretched as the school essentially is paying for multiple superintendents and high school principals. This is not to mention the lawÂsuits that this author has already filed and the liability the school has opened themselves up to by the unfair retaliation against staff.
If this level of dysfunction continues due to the absolutÂist ambitions of a totalitarian school board, we will have an insolvent school district in no time.
â Opinion by Publisher Jordan Hedberg
