Underhanded plan calls school board's ethics into question. Responsible must resign now

Note: This editorial was updated to include information about an upcoming executive session about the leaked document and the source of the leak.

Columbus residents deserve more clarity about which school board members and "stakeholders" were involved in the creation of a strategy that what would have discredited and punished critics of a plan to close school buildings.

The deceitful, underhanded and undemocratic ideas proposed in the document are beneath any public officeholder. It is troubling that there are competing narratives about who was involved in the creation of the leaked "Taking Control of the Task Force Narrative" document.

That the individual or individuals responsible for creating the document are not fully owning this embarrassing and offensive blunder calls the ethics and judgment of the entire school board and the superintendent's Community Facilities Task Force into question.

Columbus City school board document leak Public weighs in on Columbus City school closures as board members differ on document leak

Read Columbus schools leaked document: What to know about the document at the center of a Columbus schools scandal

Truth behind the Columbus City Schools document matters and must be revealed

First-year school board member Brandon Simmons said the leaked document was an early draft and apologized that community members saw that version. Saying "sorry" is not enough. That others were involved — a claim Simmons makes and others dispute — is also not enough.

The public deserves honesty.

Owning such a major lapse in judgment would have included a detailed explanation of why such tactics should not have been on the table in the first place.

Owning it now requires that the individual(s) responsible gracefully step down from the board and admit that the district is not the "board's house" as the document suggested but that of the people of the Columbus school district.

The document's drafter or drafters claim the recommendations would have restored the community's belief in the district, board and superintendent. The opposite is true.

Executing such a draconian and, perhaps, illegal plan would have been a disaster that would have deepened the divide between the people and the district.

Related CCS memo article: CCS teachers union wants board member's resignation and closure plan scrapped over memo

We also wonder when and how the board discussed this matter and if the Ohio Open Meetings Act may have been violated. We don't see how this matter would qualify for a private executive session.

Questionable and unethical recommendations included:

• Using loud mechanical equipment to disrupt opponents' press conference held on "our land."

• Not discussing bad or "less than positive" news at certain school board meetings.

• Speaking only "on message."

• Driving a wedge between the district's two unions by holding a hearing on the "disrespect of classified employees by 'other employees'."

• "Stacking the public comment period with classified employees speaking out against mistreatment by teachers."

• Not ignoring the "racial dynamic" between unions. "Laying those cards on the table."

• Rewarding "good media outlets” with “priority seating or camera location” and “priority interviews."

• Using central office staff to live fact check during meetings.

• Countering every "false statement" made during school board meetings public comment one by one.

• Changing the location of meetings with the teacher's union at the last minute, filling the room with staff and taskforce members without prior notice and interrupt union members when they try to speak.

There should be a price to pay for such malfeasance

The author or authors of such an odorous and childish document should have no power over CCS, a district of nearly 46,000 students and annual revenue of just south of a billion dollars. He, she or they should at the least be censured by the board.

The school board plans to discuss an investigation of "charges or complaint against a public official" related to the document during an executive session Wednesday.

The Columbus Education Association, which obtained the document from school board member Sarah Ingles and released it to the public with Columbus Education Justice Coalition, has called for the resignation of Simmons. CEA endorsed Ingles and Simmons over incumbent board member Carol Beckerle before last year's election.

Board member shares why she leaked memo: 'Appalled': Columbus school board member shares why she leaked memo at heart of scandal

In an open letter, CEA President John Coneglio and Izetta Thomas of the Columbus Education Justice Coalition, tied the point-by-point document to Simmons, writing that the 23-year-old shared it with other school board members in at least one private meeting.

This squared at least partially with a statement board president Christina Vera read at the start of Tuesday's school board meeting on behalf of fellow board members, saying that the superintendent, not the board, directs the work of the task force.

"A board member, Brandon Simmons expressed personal opinions about how they thought the community facilities task force work should be communicated," Vera said. "This board member was not asked to provide any recommendations and did so independently. This board member's recommendations are solely their own and do not represent the perspectives of Columbus City Schools, or the entire board of education."

Simmons, a 2020 graduate of Columbus Alternative High School who now works as a communications coordinator for the Community Shelter Board, abruptly left that school board meeting twice — once to speak with members of the media as Vera was making her statement and for several minutes after the start of the public comments period.

He declined to answer reporters' questions but painted a picture of teamwork counter to Vera's statement. Simmons said there were multiple meetings with important stakeholders.

"The reality is that there are multiple versions of that document. The one that people are seeing today, it wasn't the final version. And really, we are very sorry. It's very regrettable that that's the version people are looking at," he said. "It was a collaboration. There was input from many, many different people and ideas from many, many different folks."

Simmons said he is committed to Columbus City Schools and plans to remain on the board.

Who is Brandon Simmons? What to know about CCS board member at center of leak scandal

Either Vera and the rest of the board are being dishonest, or Simmons is. It is an important question to answer if the public is to trust what the district says is true.

The truth must come out in the wash.

No matter whose version of events you believe, one thing remains true, such a destructive plan should have never been hatched.

The document's crafter or crafters lacked the judgment needed to lead the school district and by attempting to control the narrative, they taught CCS students a terrible lesson.

That's a danger that can not be spun.

This piece was written by Dispatch Opinion Editor Amelia Robinson on behalf of the editorial board of The Columbus Dispatch. Editorials are fact-based assessments of issues of importance to the communities we serve. These are not the opinions of our reporting staff members, who strive for neutrality in their reporting.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Those behind plot against Columbus school closing critics must resign