COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus City Schools community expressed their shock and outrage Tuesday night after a document created by board member Brandon Simmons was leaked. The document detailed ways to “dominate the board room” and drive a wedge between their opponents.
The leaked document was titled, “Taking Control of the Task Force Narrative.” This is in connection to the district’s facilities task force which shared its recommendations earlier this month for about 20 school closures.
The six-page document outlined driving a wedge between the Columbus Education Association and the Columbus School Employees Association, as well as putting off sharing “bad news” with the public to later meetings if there is other “good” news to share. It also detailed rewarding “good” media outlets with “priority interviews” and “priority seating.”
There now seems to be a divide between the school district and Simmons after he held his own press conference ahead of the board meeting Tuesday night. The district stated Simmons is not permitted to speak on the board’s behalf.
Parents, faculty, and staff within the district expressed their concern over the leaked document.
"I don't think my reaction is television-approved,” Leslie Matute, an instructional assistant at Cranbrook Elementary, said.
"I was shocked, and I just kept thinking it all felt really toxic,” Liz Chapman, a parent and secretary of the board for All In for Ohio Kids, said.
"Him resigning would definitely be the call right now,” Jason Marshall, parent and president of the board for All in for Ohio Kids, said.
Simmons addressed the leaked document ahead of the meeting.
"There are multiple versions of that document and the one people are seeing today, it wasn't the final version, and it really- we're very sorry and it’s really regrettable that that's the version people are looking at,” Simmons said.
Simmons claimed he wasn’t the only one responsible for it, and there were multiple meetings with “important stakeholders” where the document was discussed.
"It was a collaboration, there was input from many, many different people and ideas from many, many different folks," Simmons said.
If that’s the case, the community said they want answers.
"The biggest thing that we gotta find out whether it was him acting alone is, who else?" Marshall said.
"Maybe the other people need to come forward and say what was going on in their minds when that document was being written,” Matute said.
When Simmons wrapped up his press conference, he made an additional statement several minutes later calling out other board members who he said were responsible for leaking the document.
"Board member Jennifer Adair chose to share that document with board member Sarah Ingles who chose to share that document with other folks,” Simmons said.
Parents, faculty, and staff alike said they just want their voices to be heard, and the board members should respect that with such critical decisions about school closures on the line.
"A plan to divide and conquer your community is absolutely an insult to everything that a community is supposed to stand for,” Marshall said.
"Put yourself in our shoes. We're trying to do the best we can here for our communities and I believe that he should be helping and not pushing us back,” Matute said.
Simmons, who did not accept any questions following his statement, continuously apologized for the wrong version of the document being released to the public.
"We are all collectively, because it was a true collaboration, we are all very sorry that this is the version of the document our community is seeing,” Simmons said.
Simmons added he will not resign.
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, School Board President Christina Vera said Simmons' recommendations do not represent the perspectives of the district or board members. Vera added that there will be no action to implement those suggestions.
You can read the school board's full statement below.
“A member of the Board of Education expressed personal opinions about how they thought the Community Facilities Task Force work should be communicated.
To be clear, the work of Task Force is directed by the Superintendent at the request of the Board of Education. Board members do not direct the Task Force, nor do they provide counsel or set procedures for the Task Force.
The Board Member was not asked to provide any recommendations and did so independently.
The Board Member’s recommendations are solely their own and do not represent the perspectives of the Columbus City Schools or the entire Board of Education.
The Columbus City Schools Board of Education expects civility, respect, and the highest ethical standards in the important work on behalf of our students. No action has been or will be taken by the District or the Board of Education to implement the Board Member’s suggestions.
The Columbus City Schools Board of Education is focused on our students and committed to collaborating with families, students, teachers, staff, our community and all stakeholder groups in the students’ best interests”.
The community facilities task force postponed its engagement sessions for Wednesday and Thursday. Leaders say the session will be rescheduled for a later time.