HOWARD — About a dozen residents of the East Knox school district attended Wednesday’s board of education meeting. Before a handful of those individuals formally addressed the board to raise questions and concerns, board president Renee McDaniel said that the board might not immediately respond to the concerns but would take them under advisement.
Referring to the financial situation, Duane Dugan said he believes the board has acted in good faith to save money. He said the problem is not the board but is the whole economic picture. He said, “We’re all in this together.”
Stating that it is necessary to lead by example, Dugan then asked if the board would be willing to forgo its salary for nine months. He also said increasing pay-to-participate fees was “a shot in the foot,” and asked whether the coaches would be willing to coach one season for nothing to offset those fees.
“They’re not making that much anyway,” he added.
Stan Johnson outlined the duties of a school board as set forth in the laws of the State of Ohio. He emphasized it is the board’s responsibility to operate according to the wishes of the district’s citizens. Talking about the failure of the most recent levy attempts, Johnson said it is obvious the citizens are not agreeing with what the board is doing.
“You need to find out what the citizens want and what they are willing to support,” he said.
