By David Hutchinson
The Farwell Board of Education held a special meeting in the high school media center room on October 1 at 7 p.m. Four out of seven board members were present—Nathan Yarhouse, Jade Campbell, John Pakledinaz, and Kellee Robinson. Danielle Sholes, Joe Maxey, and John Gross were absent. Around 20 people attended.
The board started with approving the agenda. Nobody spoke up for the first Public Comment section.
The board then went into Closed Session at 7:02 p.m. for “attorney client privilege communication.” The room was cleared of attendees who waited in the hallway. Secretary Sholes arrived and joined the board. The session lasted about an hour.
Returning to Open Session, all five board members present voted unanimously to appoint Attorney Allen Telgenhof to “investigate the alleged board policy violations involving” Superintendent Steve Scoville. Telgenhof specialized in “litigation, investigation, mediation and arbitration,” according to his website (allentelgenhof.com).
The board appointed Tom House as interim “acting superintendent” “until further board action.” House served as superintendent of Harrison Community Schools from 2008 to 2015. Since then he served as interim superintendent in Farwell, Beaverton, and Clare.
For Public Comment, an attendee thanked the board for taking “responsibility.” A teacher voiced concerns about pay stagnation.
Someone else talked about the employment situation at Farwell Area Schools. “We are so understaffed.” She said students were “suffering” for the last year or so and asked board members to spend a day at the elementary school to “find out what’s going on.” She added that the board had not held Scoville “accountable” for the “deficit.”
A custodian asked for assurance “in writing” that her “20 years” would be fulfilled. The board responded that they would “look into it.”
The meeting adjourned at 8:11 p.m. The next regular meeting is scheduled for October 20 at 7 p.m.
