The Mount Vernon NAACP Branch wrote an open letter on Tuesday, January 14th to the Mount Vernon City School District (MVCSD) Board just hours before a special meeting to express their grave concerns regarding the ongoing actions and decisions of the Board of Education, particularly as they pertain to the 2023-2024 school year and the rushed implementation of the K-8 program. “Your actions have undermined the trust and voice of the community you are elected to serve. It is imperative that we address these issues and demand immediate accountability and transparency moving forward.”
The letter which was a call for accountability and community-centered decision-making addressed the lack of community involvement in the K-8 Program, the closing of Cecil H. Parker, The Mount Vernon Honor Academy (formerly Holmes Elementary School), and The Mount Vernon Leadership Academy (formerly Columbus), the mismanagement of bond funds, and the lack of leadership continuity. The letter (see below) ended with a set of recommendations.
MV NAACP – MVCSD Board of Ed Concerns by BLACK WESTCHESTER MAGAZINE on Scribd
Hours later the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education held a Special Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 165 North Columbus Ave., Mount Vernon, where they voted 5 (Adriane Saunders, Sabina Kelley, Lorna Kirwan, Wanda White, Helene Njenga) – 4 (Warren Mitchell, Lynne Middleton, Chris McDonough, Donna Marable) to close the schools in question.
One thing I haven’t heard addressed is that Cecil Parker is a voting location that many in the area without cars can walk to, to cast their vote. Closing Parker has unforeseen ramifications like making it harder for some on the South Side to vote which can be seen as a form of voter suppression.
In addition, several members of the public questioned one of the board members being allowed to leave the board meeting and have a private sidebar with the school district’s attorney and if that influenced her vote.
“Mr. Royce Russell, the in-house counsel of the school district, should have exercised better judgment than to leave an open public meeting to confer with a trustee during a vote. It was inappropriate for Trustee Helene Thompson-Njenga to address her private question outside of the open forum,” Brenda L. Crump shared with Black Westchester. “The in-house counsel should have informed her that it was against procedure to do so; and that any questions must be posed during the vote, not privately. Trustee Thompson-Njenga’s Board colleagues, district administration, and the public are unaware of what transpired between her and Mr. Russell. This leaves room for speculation that she may have been offered an inducement in exchange for her vote. Such actions, in my opinion, should invalidate that vote, therefore resulting in the vote not passing which would require one of the nah voters to bring the resolution back.”
Also, since the Board violated its bylaws by not allowing Public Speaking in the Special Meeting (section 3000 Community Relations, Code 3220 number 9), are these two violations enough for the public to demand a revote on closing the three schools? I could not get an answer from any of the trustees I spoke with on whether these are violations and if there was a process for the public to force a revote.
9. In the case of a special board meeting with business conducted in public session (as opposed to a special board meeting consisting only of an executive session), public comment shall be permitted; however, all public comment at such a special board meeting must pertain exclusively to one or more items on that meeting’s scheduled agenda. A speaker wishing to make comments of any other nature may do so at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.
Trustee Donna Marable proposed delaying the vote and questioned the harm of waiting until the regularly scheduled board meeting the following Tuesday. Trustee Chris McDonough also proposed delaying the vote, Trustee Warren Mitchell also had questions and read the aforementioned except from the bylaws about public speaking at special meetings. Trustee Lynne Middletown also expressed some concerns. All to no avail. The other five trustees voted for the school closings.
Residents left the special board meeting feeling like they had no voice in the decisions of those they elected to run the school district.
The District will submit a petition for the reconfiguration to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) by March 1. If approved by the NYSED, the new model would take effect to start the 2025-2026 school year.
