The Shadow
LOW?MOOR?— The Alleghany County School Board passed a strongly-worded resolution Monday night denouncing recent actions and allegations made by one of its members — Donnie Kern.
The five board members present Monday night voted in approval of the resolution, which states that the board “disavows” allegations being made by Kern. It further states that Kern should “abide by a code of conduct for school board members.”
Kern, the board’s Clifton Forge West District representative, did not attend the meeting.
During the meeting, Superintendent Gene Kotulka spent more than an hour painstakingly addressing more than 60 allegations levied by Kern in a document that was e-mailed to a member of the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors in mid-December.
The document, which Kern says was filed with state officials in Richmond, makes numerous allegations concerning financial management, budgetary practices and the school division’s special education program.
In his remarks to the board, Kotulka stated numerous times that Kern’s accusations are “patently false.”
Kotulka said dealing with Kern’s allegation has involved 225 personnel hours, resulting in costs of $21,591 to the school division.
The superintendent said Kern’s accusations since he became a school board member in July “have negatively affected staff morale and distracted them from performing their job duties.”
According to Kotulka, Kern is under investigation for possible violations of student confidentiality laws and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. He said three lawsuits against Kern are pending.
At the beginning of Monday’s meeting, Board Chairman Randy Tucker read an e-mail allegedly written by Kern to a representative of Families of Autism Community Enrichment Services, which provides services including training for parents and organizations that deal with autistic children.
According to the e-mail read aloud by Tucker, Kern stated that he did not want his child “in the retard room” at a local school.
“I?am sorry Mr. Kern did not show up here tonight. To have the audacity to make those remarks, he’s not deserving to be a board member or a person in this community,” said an emotional Tucker.
Bob Umstead, who recently retired as a teacher at Clifton Middle School, said he was offended by the e-mail.
“You used the word retarded and I?am offended by that,” Umstead said to Tucker in reference to Kern’s e-mail.
Referring to Kern, Umstead said it is up to the school board and the board of supervisors “to fix the problem.”
“Fix it. Let [the teachers] teach the kids. You do your jobs. Fix the problem,” Umstead said.
Jennifer Seckner, the school board’s Sharon District representative, said that she was also offended by Kern’s e-mail.
“To refer to those with special needs in a derogatory manner is not acceptable,” she said.
Special education teachers from Sharon Elementary School spoke in support of their work with special-needs students.
“The special education program at Sharon is one of the best I?have seen,” said Michele Nicely.
“Those beautiful children and their families have become part of my life,” said Dee Ann Tickner, who teaches early-childhood special education at Sharon.
The school board’s central office staff also spoke out against Kern.
Speaking on behalf of the administrative staff, Jeff Alleman said that Kern’s allegations have affected his ability to work with employees in the central office.
He said that “at a minimum,” Kern’s actions are “unethical.”
Tucker said Kern has been highly critical of Kotulka since he joined the board last summer. Tucker said Kern has tried to portray the superintendent as a “villain.”
“Mr. Kern is the villain,” Tucker said.
Tucker accused Kern of “spreading lies” so he can “get services he is not eligible for.”
