School Board Meets April 12
Angela Walker hired as a new volunteer Softball Coach at Clay High, Kimberly Workman resigned from Lizemores Grade School, and Heath Cliver bailed out as ALC teacher at Clay Middle School. Those three changes plus the School system received an additional $33,000 in tax revenues this year, that was about it for important stuff discussed and or decided during the April 12th Board of Ed meeting held at the Pentagon on Gump Street.
Nope, not a peep on the number of students /employees with COVID or in quarantine. No mention of the construction projects in progress at the Middle and High shools.
The public meeting would have been over and done with in 8 minutes had it none been for two concerned Clayonians in attendance.
Background first. During the first week of April clayberry.org posted a couple images sent in from viewers of the site. The pics were of the Braley college scholarship application. The second of those images provided terms of the free money which included, females can only apply to the college fund IF and only if they were going into the teaching profession while males could apply for funds for any college degree they wanted. See down below.
Now back to the meeting readers.
The Boyce's on April 12th
John Boyce and wifey
are both veterinarians and live way out Little Beechy way.
Both were there to raise the discrimination issue with the
Board. Ms Boyce told those up front, she had been a victim of
discrimination when she wanted to get into veterinarian school
and didn't want that to be happening in County Clay. Her words
came with a firm term.
John Boyce informed the Board that he had spoken with his attorney about this issue. According to Dr Boyce, because the school system was promoting the discriminatory scholarship fund at the High School and he felt guidance counselors were advancing the fund, the school system was involved in discrimination. Dr Boyce, " Are you involved in any way?"
For those of us that attend Board meetings, we know, public discussion of an iffy subject is not suppose to happen. Any time the Pentagon is challenged, that's a no no for sure.
Why does Superintendent Paxton and the Board hate it so bad for the public to raise an issue? ANSWER: the public is usually correct and the high and lofty Board ends up with egg on their faces.
Paxton tried to slide thru, those scholarship dollars are important, he's glad to have people donating $$$ for college and the school system had little say in those offerings.
John Boyce wasn't accepting that load of crap and came back with Title 9 laws and equal opportunities for both sexes. When females are treated differently, that's unlawful and the Board can have no part of such.
Cheryl White asked about splitting up the scholarships into two separate programs while Susan Bodkins questioned the very discussion at all. One of em, maybe Cheryl, "We're only showing the kids info". That was BS because scholarship awards are always announced during graduation ceremonies.
Neither Boyce wavered from their contentions and asked for Paxton to check into the issue.
Paxton offered to talk to them away from the public setting. He asked for an email address to once again, keep the findings away from the public's prying ears.
John Boyce wasn't having any of that crapola and said they would attend the next School Board meeting to receive an answer. Nice attempt by the Superintendent but a better move by John Boyce and wifey.
John Boyce informed the Board that he had spoken with his attorney about this issue. According to Dr Boyce, because the school system was promoting the discriminatory scholarship fund at the High School and he felt guidance counselors were advancing the fund, the school system was involved in discrimination. Dr Boyce, " Are you involved in any way?"
For those of us that attend Board meetings, we know, public discussion of an iffy subject is not suppose to happen. Any time the Pentagon is challenged, that's a no no for sure.
Why does Superintendent Paxton and the Board hate it so bad for the public to raise an issue? ANSWER: the public is usually correct and the high and lofty Board ends up with egg on their faces.
Paxton tried to slide thru, those scholarship dollars are important, he's glad to have people donating $$$ for college and the school system had little say in those offerings.
John Boyce wasn't accepting that load of crap and came back with Title 9 laws and equal opportunities for both sexes. When females are treated differently, that's unlawful and the Board can have no part of such.
Cheryl White asked about splitting up the scholarships into two separate programs while Susan Bodkins questioned the very discussion at all. One of em, maybe Cheryl, "We're only showing the kids info". That was BS because scholarship awards are always announced during graduation ceremonies.
Neither Boyce wavered from their contentions and asked for Paxton to check into the issue.
Paxton offered to talk to them away from the public setting. He asked for an email address to once again, keep the findings away from the public's prying ears.
John Boyce wasn't having any of that crapola and said they would attend the next School Board meeting to receive an answer. Nice attempt by the Superintendent but a better move by John Boyce and wifey.
Superintendent Joe Paxton
Sometime between
our posting of the scholarship application and the April 12th
meeting, we received a copy of an email sent to the
administrators of the Braley Scholarship fund.
In it's entirety:
Ms. Nikki Bowman Mills; I have reviewed a summary of your highly successful career to date and I must wonder; where would you be if, way back in Clay High School, you were financially forced as a female to accept a scholarship that required you to pursue a degree in a field of education but gave young men the opportunity to pursue any field of interest including, for example, International Studies and SlavIic Studies. I find it astounding that you would support the attached scholarship that clearly limits the opportunities of female Clay High School students. Perhaps you would like to come to the next School Board meeting and attempt to justify your support of this sexually-biased scholarship? John Boyce, DVM, Phd, Diplomat ACVP, Diplomat ACLAM and Clay County resident.
In it's entirety:
Ms. Nikki Bowman Mills; I have reviewed a summary of your highly successful career to date and I must wonder; where would you be if, way back in Clay High School, you were financially forced as a female to accept a scholarship that required you to pursue a degree in a field of education but gave young men the opportunity to pursue any field of interest including, for example, International Studies and SlavIic Studies. I find it astounding that you would support the attached scholarship that clearly limits the opportunities of female Clay High School students. Perhaps you would like to come to the next School Board meeting and attempt to justify your support of this sexually-biased scholarship? John Boyce, DVM, Phd, Diplomat ACVP, Diplomat ACLAM and Clay County resident.