Lewis Cass to hold first board meeting since placing superintendent on leave
May 14—The Lewis Cass school board will hold their first public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening since placing superintendent Tim Garland on administrative leave.
Garland was placed on leave April 25 and no explanation has been given to parents. Those in the Lewis Cass community have also expressed concerns over the status of a teacher.
The Pharos-Tribune filed a public records request with the school system on April 29.
Steve Darnell is currently serving as interim superintendent. Darnell has served as superintendent for Southern Wells Community Schools, East Washington School Corporation and Smith-Green Community schools.
Lewis Cass has faced multiple challenges over the past two years, most recently coping with the suicides of two students.
In December 2022, the Cass County Republican Party sent a message of rebuke to Sen. Todd Young over his vote for the Respect for Marriage Act. The chair of the local Republican party is David Richey, who is listed on the Lewis Cass school directory as a teacher.
The letter was published Dec. 8, 2022, on Twitter by CNN reporter Melanie Zanona. The letter also referred to issues regarding same-sex marriage and religious freedom.
In an interview on Dec. 19 of that year, Richey compared being LGTBQ+ to being a drug user and called it unhealthy. He also brought up grooming and pedophilia when speaking of the LGTBQ+ community.
"There are some sick people out there," Richey said. "But at what point do we say 'I love children. That makes me a pedophile. I want to marry an 11-year-old, a 10-year-old.' We are already accepting ... it's happening now. Pedophilia is happening. It happens all the time. There are people who love it and they are going to push for it. They think it's wonderful."
In August 2022, the school corporation raised the ire of parents who homeschool when they changed its middle school withdrawal form for parents who wish to homeschool their children after some parents expressed anger at a paragraph in the original form.
The paragraph in question stated that parents understand withdrawing their child from school is likely to reduce the child's future earnings and increase their likelihood of being unemployed in the future.
Garland quickly apologized along with changing the text.
The school board and corporation have also yet to reschedule a diversity assembly that was previously canceled. Garland and board members periodically speak of options but have yet to act on hiring a diversity expert to talk to the students.
Prior to the public meeting, the school board will meet in a closed executive session at 5:30 p.m. focused on training with an outside consultant.
The school board meeting will be held at the corporation office, located at 100 S. Main St.
