Did you hear several new positions were approved at the Ozark School Board meeting this month? There is always a long list of needs we wish we could add (and some of these newly-approved positions have been on that list for a few years), but we are always glad when the administration finds a way to fund as much as possible in order to hire those who are needed to help our students succeed.
In addition to new positions, the Board also approved new adjustments to job descriptions and some accompanying policy clean-up, making sure to accurately reflect all the hard work that our employees actually do to keep our schools running so well!
We heard details about many upcoming events, including the graduation ceremony – an exciting event focusing on celebrating the incredible success of so many diligent students (and teachers and parents and other supporters!)
Way to go, class of 2025!
The meeting was only 30 minutes long (really short for an Ozark school board meeting!) but it was also exciting! If you missed it but want to see it, it may be available soon on the District website, or it’s also posted at Ozark School Board Meeting 05-08-2025 The District Reports, Future Dates, and other items up for approval can be seen on the agenda, which is linked at https://www.ozarktigers.org/school-board
While we were talking about policies, I took the opportunity to ask the board to add consideration of a policy amendment as an item on next month’s agenda so we could discuss it. Many of you have long recognized the value of establishing a policy in writing to determine how the District defines sex and gender uniformly, without discrimination. With recent federal directives and guidance from the Office of Civil Rights requiring promotion of a definition of two sexes only, establishing that uniform policy now is more than just valuable. It’s needed in order to remain in compliance. Entities receiving federal funds who refuse to distinguish male and female based on physical sex risk losing federal funding for violating Federal directives. Neglect in establishing a written policy also opens up liability in discrimination suits, as the Blue Springs School District discovered when the Western District Missouri Court of Appeals upheld an award of $4.2 million against them, citing the district’s lack of a written policy as one of the factors showing it had discriminated against a student.
To protect our district’s federal funds and to avoid liability in discrimination suits, I suggested adding a statement to our Title IX policy explaining that the District defines the terms “sex” and “gender” to mean physical, biological sex rather than psychological gender. (I modeled that part of the statement after a state law defining gender for sports so that the wording would be constitutionally valid, and I am eager to discuss it with my fellow board members and hear their suggestions.) Technically, this month, I didn’t actually suggest adding that statement. Instead, I made a motion to put it on next month’s agenda so it could be discussed then. The other six board members refused to consider placing it on that future agenda. You can see it in the pictures at the right and my thoughts on why it’s now even more urgent that we establish a written definition. You can watch it beginning around the 18:10 mark in the linked video.
According to Policy BDDB-2, there are two ways board members can add items to agendas. This is the third time I have tried in a meeting to get the Board to place this item on the agenda. From last July through December 2024, I requested privately in writing over a dozen different times to the superintendent and board officers (that is, the past board president and the past board vice president, who is now our current board president) to discuss it in a meeting, and was either ignored or blatantly told “no” or “not now”. During this past meeting, our board president expressed anger that I did not talk to her about the topic in advance of the meeting. Technically, she is correct that I have not talked with her recently nor individually about it. As the past board vice president, she was a recipient each time I wrote the officers of the board, again, more than a dozen times since last July, sometimes in individual messages which directly requested an individual response, but she did not respond. However, I do agree that it would have been better to try again to contact her about it this month rather than assuming she would not respond favorably. I take responsibility for not reaching out to her this month; I have since contacted her to try to repair that misunderstanding.
After I suggested that the item be placed on next month’s agenda for discussion, another board colleague seemed especially upset that I would again suggest discussing it. He dismissed the federal regulations and pointed instead to the court case against the Blue Springs, MO School District, claiming that I was deliberately trying to break the law by discussing creating a statement to comply with federal regulations and which is modeled after state law. He charged that I was trying to open the District to a huge lawsuit, trying to use the District as a guinea pig for something with the state.
I had expected possible debate in the future about the phrasing of the statement, or even discussion right then about the timing of it, whether to place it on next month’s or a specific later month’s agenda. The slanderous, personal attack on my goodwill for the district and respect for the law, however, took me aback – and needed correction – but it was not the time nor place to respond to that as I do not want to contribute to the impression of a divisive atmosphere during a school board meeting by discussing personal character rather than District issues. I did send an email (pictured below) on the following day to clear the record about his false allegations. (Here is the link to my written views regarding the case law he mentioned.)
I have since received many, many encouraging contacts from those who are concerned that our District will not consider the addition of a written statement to our policy – and those who are concerned that an elected representative of the people is being silenced by a refusal to add an item to the agenda for discussion. I am grateful for your support and will keep working to build more productive relationships with fellow board members so that all our perspectives will be welcomed and can be shared and discussed and debated in a healthy way. That healthy discourse leads to refinement and improvement of ideas, helping protect our District, its students and employees, and continuing making our District even better than it already is! Thank you for the opportunity to represent you in our District, and please feel free to contact me to share your thoughts. Contact information for all board members through the District-sponsored email can be found at School Board – Ozark School District. If that doesn’t work for you, you can use ChristinaforOzark@yahoo.com
Find more board meeting updates at https://www.christinatonsing.com/updates/
As always, I speak only for myself and do not at all intend to represent the Board to you in anything I write or post.
I do, however, fully intend to do my job representing YOU to the Board!