BROWNSTOWN — The Brownstown Central Community School Corp. board of school trustees put an end to months of discussion and debate about providing equal board representation for the town and six townships within the district on Tuesday evening.
At the present time, the town of Brownstown has two permanent seats, and Brownstown, Driftwood and Grassy Fork townships each have permanent seats. The remaining three townships, Owen, Pershing and Salt Creek, share two seats, leaving one without representation at times.
The end result of recent discussions to make the system fairer is to have each of the seven seats serve 16 consecutive years before a two-year-break. The breaks would be staggered. In an 80-year span, each seat would have one time when it would not be filled for three years.
“We all give a little to maintain unity and a cohesive and fair representation,” board President Scott Shade said during a work session at the administration building. “So basically what we are saying, we would all be one-seventh versus two-thirds.”
Shade said the existing system, which has been in place since consolidation of township schools occurred 60 years ago, is not fair.
He also said the board prefers to remain an appointed board elected by town and township elected officials.
“If we do step back and take a look at our job as school board members, we have to consider all the seats and people who have the right for full representation,” he said.
“Really, I think our job is to remain unified and work together. It’s not to overcome personal or political interests but to ensure our children are safe and receive proper education and the teachers and staff have the resources to do so,” he said. “This process we have in place ensures this mindset and is why Brownstown Central schools are successful.”
Shade also brought up the issue of term limits for board members, and the general consensus among the five trustees on hand for the meeting was that any term limits should come from the governing body that appoints trustees. Trustees Brian Wheeler and Gina Hackman did not attend the work session.
“That’s not really our decision,” Shade said of limiting the terms of board members.
Shade said it will take some time for the corporation attorney to complete the needed paperwork to implement the change in board representation.
“So we can see when we can vote on it, the timing on that, whether it’s July or August, and we can move forward to repair this problem,” he said.
Once the board votes on a resolution, it has to be published in the newspaper within 10 days, and voters may file a petition protesting the plan or submit an alternative plan and have it signed by the lesser of 20% of voters or 500 voters within 120 days. The plan would then be sent to the state board of education to certify or disapprove.
If certified without protest or petition, the plan would go into effect without further action.
If disapproved or a petition is filed against the school board plan, the proposed change would go to a special election within 90 days of the state board certification or a regular election if one is scheduled within six months.
If community members initiate a change, file a petition with the clerk of the circuit court specifying changes and have it signed by 10% of voters, the clerk has 30 days to certify and verify signatures.