Trustee Taylor resigns amid ongoing controversy
POLSON — Polson School Board trustee Theresa Taylor resigned from her position at the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Feb. 13, citing an unwillingness to “be perceived as a participant” in what she believes are unethical and potentially criminal actions by some fellow trustees.
Taylor read from a prepared statement, saying that she didn’t see her 12-year tenure on the board ending in such a fashion, but thanked the community, parents, students, staff and administration for their support.
“Agenda items tonight (Feb. 13), along with recent actions taken by some of the trustees, have placed me in a position where I feel the board is compromised in its ability to function,” Taylor read at the meeting.
Taylor ended her statement by saying, “I hope soon the board can somehow recover from its current dysfunction to once again become an entity that serves the students of this district” before leaving the meeting.
Taylor didn’t get her wish Monday, however, as tempers flared and frustrations were evident for much of the four-hour meeting. One of the hot points of contention regarded letter exchanges between Superintendent David Whitesell and the Lake County Treasurer, as well as Whitesell and board chairwoman Caryl Cox.
The agenda planned to discuss the letter exchange between Whitesell and the county, but branched out when Cox mentioned that Whitesell had written a letter with allegations against Cox that she has overstepped her authority as board chair and had violated the open meeting pact on some occasions. Cox sent that letter to board attorney Michael Dahlem who offered to provide a legal opinion regarding Whitesell’s allegations.
Nancy Lindsay made a motion to have Mr. Dahlem evaluate the letter Whitesell sent to Cox for legality and appropriateness, but Cox later said that the attorney had already commented on it, though he hadn’t made a legal evaluation.
“Mr. Dahlem felt that Mr. Whitesell made some very libelous accusations against me,” Cox said.
“He’s told you he felt that Mr. Whitesell made some libelous allegations against you,” trustee Bob Hanson said. “What more are you looking for?”
“I don’t know,” Cox responded.
Nevertheless, the board voted 4-2 in favor of Lindsay’s motion before Hanson made a motion to authorize the MTSBA to send their evaluation of the exchange between Whitesell and the county to the county so the MTSBA could respond on behalf of the district. That motion failed 3-3.
In other action, a motion failed 3-3 to make Mr. Dahlem the sole legal counsel except on matters concerning special education or if the board stipulates otherwise. Lindsay made the motion in an effort to the cut cost of having two separate attorneys and bring legal expenses under control, saying the trustees can still seek advice from other attorneys or the MTSBA so long as a cost isn’t incurred, but trustee Brian Havlovick took exception, stating he didn’t trust Dahlem for a few reasons, among them that he has yet to meet Dahlem and that he didn’t like his billing practices (the board had earlier passed a motion to ask Dahlem to itemize his charges with descriptions on a monthly basis).
The board also passed a motion 4-2 to approve the Superintendent Plan of Improvement that was prepared for the board by Dahlem over the last month. The plan outlined five goals and objectives that Whitesell is asked to pursue. Whitesell’s progress will be reviewed monthly and if little or no progress is made, the board may take disciplinary action ranging from a letter of reprimand to dismissal for cause.