Joy Farley talks to the Marietta City Schools Board of Education Monday night in the Marietta High School auditorium. Farley told the board the district must strive to create a culture of excellence in schools and asked the board to share any results they receive from surveys. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Marietta City Schools Board of Education President Cody Parman began Monday’s meeting with a moment of silence for a recent student who passed away.

“I want to start us off with probably the most important thing that we’re going to do all evening,” Parman said. “And that is to remember and honor the life of a student that we lost this month on Jan. 7. Her name was Izabelle Beck.”

Parman said Beck was a freshman at Marietta High School and while he didn’t know her personally, he said he had a very distinct memory of her. He said when his son, who is also a freshman, was in kindergarten he would pick him up from Washington Elementary every day and a girl would always give him a big hug goodbye. He said after the fifth or sixth time, he asked his son who that was.

“He said that was Izabelle,” Parman said. “And from what I understand, that describes Izabelle in a nutshell, she was an absolute ray of sunshine. And everyone, every student, every teacher and a person in our district who has had something to say about Izabelle just had nothing but great things to say. What a wonderful, incredible student.”

After the moment of silence the board moved on to presentations.

Teddy Bauer, a Marietta High School junior, asked the Marietta City Schools Board of Education Monday night to put their trust in the district’s athletic leaders and accept the athletic director’s recommendations for fall sports’ coaches. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Marshall Smith, assistant band director, shared details about a new indoor drumming opportunity. He explained that many students expressed a passion for drumming beyond the marching band season. He said to provide them with a chance to continue developing their skills, the district is launching an indoor drumline program.

Smith said the program will be similar to marching band, but will focus solely on drums and percussion instruments, allowing students to perform indoors on the basketball court rather than on the football field. Smith emphasized the benefits of this program, noting that it teaches students important skills like time management and hard work, while also giving them a creative outlet to express themselves.

“Hopefully we can kind of keep this going in the years to come,” Smith said. “We are going to be hosting a home show here at Marietta (High School) on Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the gym. That’ll be a performance for both our indoor percussions and our Color Guard groups to give everybody an opportunity to kind of see what indoor is.”

Parman made a statement responding to the demands from the community during the last board meeting in December. He discussed the importance of transparency and speaking with a unified voice when responding to the community.

“For the sake of transparency and efficiency in this meeting, I do have available for you copies of a response that our board had to the group of parents last month. In regards to the five demands, we have five responses. And this is an email that the entire board had an opportunity to have to be put in.”

He emphasized the challenge of balancing diverse opinions among the five board members.

“When you’re speaking as an officer of the board, you want to speak in terms of the consensus of the board,” Parman said. “So that’s what makes a little bit of the communication in these meetings difficult, because we have five board members with some diverse opinions on things, and so having an opportunity to get a consensus and have an appropriate response was important to us.”

Many members of the Fight For Marietta Schools group spoke during Monday’s meeting saying they were pleases with the changes the board has made in the past month.

“I hope you are picking up a difference in our tone tonight. That is very intentional, because we acknowledge and are thankful for some of the movement that you make on some of the things we asked. We’re very, grateful for that,” said Ryan Miller, one of the leaders of the group.

Another member of the group, Joy Farley, said a previous request made by the community to have a third-party organization interview the school’s administration, teachers, and students to assess the current culture was being met. She expressed eagerness to learn the findings of these interviews, as the community is committed to working with school leadership to make positive changes. She said she believes that a thriving school culture is essential for the institution’s future success and the well-being of its staff and students.

“A positive culture matters because it dramatically impacts employee engagement, productivity, retention and overall performance by creating a supportive environment where individuals feel valued, empowered and motivated to contribute their best work,” Farley said.

The group met after the board went into executive session to discuss how a group of five families has been working together to communicate with the board and address issues of declining morale and high turnover in the school district.

They said the board has responded positively to four out of five of their requests, including accelerating the superintendent search and bringing in an outside organization to survey teachers, administrators and parents. They said the election of Parman as board president is seen as a positive change, as he has been overcommunicating and suspending all committees until the new superintendent is hired.

However, the group remains concerned about Board Member John Lehman’s behavior, including allegations of intimidation tactics and sending hate mail to administrators and coaches. They plan to attend all future board meetings to maintain accountability, and are looking to endorse three candidates for the upcoming board elections who are committed to addressing cultural health issues and standing up to strong personalities like Lehman.

The group is encouraging community members to get involved, either by attending board meetings or considering running for the board themselves. They are open to interviewing potential candidates and evaluating who to publicly endorse.

“If you could be at the board meetings with us we would so appreciate it,” Miller said to the group. “We’re not going to bring a hostile presence to them. We just want to be there to just keep accountability. Between now and November, please reach out if you’re interested in running. We’re looking for candidates. We would love to have a conversation with you.”

Response from the Marietta City Schools Board of Education to demands from the public:

* Hiring a superintendent is a top priority. To ensure we find the best candidate to meet the district’s needs, we have partnered with Finding Leaders to conduct a statewide and nationwide search. Our board is committed to identifying a leader who will guide us in achieving the goals set out in our strategic plan.

* We share your commitment to supporting our teachers and administrators. The district has faced significant challenges due to consolidation and curriculum changes. While past processes may not have been flawless, we are focused on moving forward collectively. Finding Leaders is helping us organize focus groups to gather input from teachers, administrators, parents and stakeholders. These efforts will guide both the district and the new superintendent in fostering success and unity.

* The use of board subcommittees was an effort to increase transparency and efficiency in implementing the strategic plan. These meetings were open to the public and created to invite community participation. However, we acknowledge the concerns raised and, moving forward, subcommittees will be restructured under the guidance of the new superintendent. In the meantime, district administrators will provide updates during regular board meetings. Board member Russ Garrison will continue to advocate for uniform high quality instruction while prioritizing transparency and collaboration.

* School boards represent diverse perspectives within the community. Each member is one of five, with no individual authority, and votes their conscience on behalf of the community. Board member John Lehman has the right to express his views and vote independently, even on matters that generate strong opinions, such as athletics. Lehman has no intention of resigning and remains committed to fulfilling his elected responsibilities.

* The board operates under Ohio Revised Code and the MEA contract, which dictate the process for hiring and retaining coaches. Recommendations for coaching contracts originate with the Athletic Director and Superintendent before coming to the board for approval. As a board, we cannot approve extensions outside these policies but remain committed to following the proper procedures.