Will Indian River School Board try to oust its chair, vice chair? Posca raises the issue
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The School Board could be laying the groundwork to oust its chair and vice chair.
The board holds its annual state-mandated reorganization meeting in November to choose the chair and vice chair.
School Board member Dr. Gene Posca suggested Monday that policy be amended to allow the board to remove its leaders if the majority believes they "no longer represent the board's interest or carry out their duty appropriately."
"It would make sense (the board) would have the power to remove them," Posca said. "The board majority should have a procedural power to replace these positions."
Posca participated in the meeting by video, rather than in person. He offered no explanation for why he was proposing the change at this time, but said he doubted it would be used often by the board.
Posca said the authority is "a common-sense function on many boards," which Indian River probably should have.
Board Chair Teri Barenborg and Vice Chair Peggy Jones were chosen for those leadership positions in November by the full board. But the board majority has changed since then. Barefoot resigned in February, and Gov. Ron DeSantis in April named Kevin McDonald his successor. In split votes, McDonald has predominantly cast his vote with Posca and Jacqueline Rosario.
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No action was taken on Posca's proposal, although Rosario invited him to "fine-tune" his thoughts and present them again to the board.
For her part, Jones said there was no need to change the policy.
"I think it would be a precedent that would not be good for the school district in general," Jones said.
Barenborg voiced concerns that "we are going to be flip-flopping on this" continually. As chair, Barenborg said, she often signs contracts that are renewed. With a change in chair, the board could be out of compliance with some contracts, she said.
"I don't know why we would want to go above statute," Barenborg said.
School Board attorney Sid Ansbacher said none of the school districts he consulted had heard of a chair being removed. The board could ask for an opinion from the attorney general, but that could take months, he said.
Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at colleen.wixon@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: IRC school board discusses changing policy to allow it to remove chair
