Thursday morning at 9:00am, Sapulpa Times was joined by News on 6 and Sapulpa Daily Herald amidst a crowd of parents, teachers and retired employees of Sapulpa Public Schools, as the Board of Education voted to convene in an executive session to discuss whether or not to act on or respond to the resignation letter of former Holmes Park Elementary Principal Bobby Alfred.
Though the crowd seemed a bit smaller than the one which had gathered the Monday before, the people were no less passionate or enthusiastic about supporting Bobby Alfred and seeing some changes made in the administration. The Board Room was still at standing-room-only, and this time, every Board Member was present.
One notable absence though, was Superintendent Burr, who had been at the short-lived meeting on Monday, but was said to be on vacation today.
The board, which continued to deliberate for well over an hour and a half, finally exited their meeting and took their seats at the head of the board room. In an official announcement by Board President is Steve McCormick, he stated that the board had been seeking legal counsel about the situation and that per board policy, “They could not comment on ongoing personnel issues.”
And just like that, it was over.
The disappointment in the room was immediately felt. Several groans and came from the crowd, as they stood up to leave.
By choosing not to comment on the matter, what are they actually saying? The School Board’s silence speaks volumes.
Carla Cale, President of United Sapulpa Educators (and a teacher in the Sapulpa School district) told Sapulpa Times “it’s really the only thing they could say, legally. Because these matters are ongoing, to say something about Bobby Alfred or Superintendent Burr or any of the others would violate confidentiality laws.”
Even so, many of the attendees vowed that the issue was not over, and they’d continue to push the issue until the situation was resolved.
While legally, the board was forbidden to comment on the matters at hand, for the crowd at the Board Meeting this morning, their silence speaks volumes.
See the announcement from our Facebook Live feed below:
