Frederick Classical Charter School governance issues surface
Feb. 25—What was supposed to be an annual update to the Frederick County Board of Education about Frederick Classical Charter School (FCCS) turned into an intense and, at points, emotional discussion about the school's governance problems.
After the school's principal and two members of FCCS' Board of Trustees gave school board members updates on recent academic achievements and financial standings, board president Jay Mason directly asked if trustees present at the meeting could address complaints from parents about what they called racist remarks leveled at the school's principal, Camille Bell, by an unnamed trustee.
This launched a hour-long discussion about the problems that seem to be plaguing the school's main governing body.
According to Shelly Smallwood, vice president of the Board of Trustees, the trustee who made the remarks is still on the board. But she insisted that FCPS board members meet with trustees in order to "hear both sides of that story." She said she felt uncomfortable discussing the matter publicly as it related to personnel.
Smallwood added that after the remarks were made, an internal review was conducted, and the remarks were determined not to be racist.
"It's something that I personally would never tolerate, and I think the majority of our board would say the same ... and we just want to make sure that both sides of that are heard," she said.
School board member Liz Barrett said there have been governance problems at the school since the time she started in 2014. She criticized trustees for not being transparent and not working with FCPS to solve conflicts that have arisen. Barrett specifically cited confidentiality agreements signed by trustees and redacted emails shared between FCCS and FCPS.
Barrett asked Smallwood to justify the large number of legal fees the school has paid recently and asked if trustees had undergone cultural proficiency trainings.
Smallwood said a large portion of the legal expenses were related to property searches the school has been conducting, and she also mentioned hiring a lawyer to review the board of trustees bylaws. Regarding the cultural proficiency trainings, Smallwood said they conducted two sessions, the first of which "was not done correctly." They then did a re-training, and according to Smallwood, the trustee who was accused of making racist remarks attended both trainings.
Many FCPS board members seemed concerned with the turmoil surrounding FCCS.
"Something is going on. It's not very clear ... but it's apparent to me that there's a disconnect somewhere ... I would like to see these things worked out," said board member Jason Johnson.
Board member Sue Johnson said she would hate to see the success of the school under Bell's leadership diminished by these other issues.
When asked directly by Mason if she felt supported by the board of trustees, Bell said no. Mason also asked if she felt a resolution had come about from the incident of the remarks, to which Bell also replied no.
But that lack of support doesn't seem to matter to her. Bell attributed her success and the school's success to her staff and supportive parents. She got choked up when speaking about the support she has received from FCPS.
"Quite frankly, if it wasn't for Frederick County Public Schools, I wouldn't be here. I would have given up a long time ago," Bell said. "The work that I do is so important, and the kids are so amazing — there is nothing like it. So, for me it's not a decision about, 'Are you going to come back tomorrow because grown folks have gotten on your nerves?' Absolutely not. It's, 'We're going to get this work done.'"
Daniel Lippy, FCPS director of school management, told board members he would collect specific questions they had about the school's governance issues and take them to a meeting he has scheduled with trustees next week.
Follow Katryna Perera on Twitter: @katrynajill
