(ABOVE) District 118 Board members Darlene Halloran, Pastor Thomas Miller, and Elder Tyson Parks
In front of a Wednesday night overflow crowd, the Danville District 118 School Board reached a controversial conclusion about no one having actually run for the remaining two years of board member Lon Henderson’s term, after his fall of 2021 resignation. Attorney for the district Steve Richart explained that due to a change in the state election code in 2013, the district board’s requirements concerning dissemination of information about elections is substantially less than it used to be.
Richart said the mistake the district did make was that when Elder Tyson Parks and Christopher Easton were sworn-in in the fall of 2021, it was not decided who was taking the resigned Bill Dobbles’ four-year term that would expire in 2023, and who was taking Lon Henderson’s four-year term that would expire in 2025, meaning an election for the final two years would be needed in 2023.
Dr. Ron Serfoss states his opinion to board, District 118 Board president Dr. Randall Ashton makes a point, Tom Mellon lets the board know his feelings.
So, with the old school board still in place, they did that; as Shannon Schroeder made the motion to have Elder Tyson Parks be declared the one that took Henderson’s seat. That passed 4-2; with Darlene Halloran voting “no,” the outgoing Easton voting “no,” and the retiring Johnnie Carey abstaining.
Next came the key moment. After newly elected board members Kimberly Corley and Alice Payne were sworn-in, along with the reelected Pastor Thomas Miller; Elder Tyson Parks was allowed, per the district’s attorneys, to stay on with the new board to participate in the vote on whether he would be allowed to be declared a holdover, since no one ran for the position, and be allowed to serve the final two years of Henderson’s term.
Outgoing board members Christopher Easton and Johnnie Carey shake hands; Alice Payne, Pastor Thomas Miller, and Kimberly Corley are sworn into their school board terms; Attorney Steve Richart explains District 118’s situation early in the meeting.
Corley and Payne spoke out against it, and board member Darlene Halloran was adamant that Easton and Parks had signed papers stating their terms were over in 2023, and therefore both should have been done at Wednesday’s meeting. If their positions had held, the board would have gone by normal procedure with a declared vacancy, and then sought out interested replacements. But everyone else voted to keep Elder Tyson Parks on the board; including Elder Parks himself, Shannon Schroeder, Pastor Thomas Miller, and the deciding vote at the end cast by board president Dr. Randall Ashton. Elder Parks had finished last among the six District 118 Board candidates in the recent Consolidated Election.
Tom Mellon spoke out against the whole problem itself during public comment early on, and about the decision to us afterwards. He said it definitely seemed to be a case of “who the board liked.”
Johnnie Carey makes one of her final points before retiring as a District 118 Board member; overflow crowd awaits start of meeting, with Alice Payne and Kimberly Corley awaiting their swear-ins; Darlene Halloran states her opinion that both Christopher Easton and Elder Tyson Parks’ terms have expired, but they could apply to fill a vacancy if they wish.
AUDIO: Being friends had to be a factor tonight, without paying respect to the voters. That’s all I can say.
Dr. Ron Serfoss has been critical of the District 118 Board’s handling of the issue. At the end of this meeting, he told Neuhoff Media he had nothing left.
AUDIO: This is my last comment: I think the vote that the board took tonight, is an absolutely humoristic point of view of what they think they are.
Reelected Board President Dr. Randall Ashton stated afterwards that some things were said Wednesday night that should be disputed, but he is choosing to move on. He was on his way to a closed session to discuss contract negotiation dates with the Danville Education Association and Food Service. The DEA teachers contract expires on June 30th.
