‘Things Have Been Pretty Bad’: Robbinsdale Area School Board Looks to Hire Mediator
The Robbinsdale Area School Board plans to ask a third-party mediator to improve the working relationships and communications between board members.
“I propose that we have a facilitated meeting just to clear the air,” wrote Robbinsdale Area School Board Chair Helen Bassett in a correspondence with board members.
The board moved ahead with the proposal on Monday, Dec. 4.
Several board members characterized their relationships as strained.
“One of the things we’ve not discussed publicly is the harm that has gone on on board members and some of the other groups that have expressed their sense of harm as a result of actions by board members,” said Robbinsdale Area School Board Member ReNae Bowman. “We have to be very careful that the abusers and the abuse makers are not recommending the prescription for how the folks that have felt harmed are feeling.”
The board decided to ask a firm called Mediation Center to recommend a mediator and schedule a public meeting. Mediation Center has an affiliation with the Dispute Resolution Institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
Students in the Robbinsdale Area School District walk through a school hallway. The Robbinsdale Area School Board plans to ask a third-party mediator to improve communications between board members.
“Things Have Been Pretty Bad”
Robbinsdale Area School Board Member Kim Holmes said it was “clear” that the board has communication issues. She said she was unwilling to discuss the matter in a closed meeting.
“What I will not be subject to is going into a closed session and being harassed in a closed session, or sent emails to and being name called,” she said.
Meanwhile, Robbinsdale Area School Board Member Sharon Brooks said she was “disappointed” to see the issue on an agenda.
“Things have been pretty bad,” she said. “And it’s a matter of opinion of who the abuser is. I’m not going to accept my colleagues determining that for me.”
The board is also in the early stages of searching for a permanent superintendent.
They voted to hire the Minnesota Schools Boards Association to lead the search.
Former Superintendent David Engstrom parted ways with the district in September.
Interim Superintendent Marti Voight has filled in for the role since Engstrom’s departure. She’s a former assistant superintendent in the district.
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