Christina School District’s board continued down a path of argument and division Tuesday.
At its first regular meeting since its 7-hour one in July that ended in the nonrenewal of Superintendent Dan Shelton’s contract, the Christina School District Board of Education was tumultuous once again.
In Tuesday night’s meeting, two state legislators — Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark and Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark, — and Secretary of Education Mark Holodick, condemned the board for its hostile behavior in recent months and outlined the harmful effects on children and teachers that the board’s behavior has caused.
Baumbach will not be running for re-election in June and his retirement takes effect Nov. 6.
Holodick said it is crucial that the board is collaborative and said the current state of the board definitely hurts the district’s efforts to recruit and retain teachers.
It was clear from the jump the meeting was going to be contentious, as there were two competing motions on the agenda: one to bring Shelton back and the other to appoint an interim superintendent.
July’s meeting lasted until nearly 3 a.m. after a now – very publically – divided board finally settled on a 4-3 vote to not bring back Shelton for the 2024-2025 school year.
Board President Don Patton joined Vice President Alethea Smith-Tucker, Y.F. Lou and Naveed Baqir in voting yes to the removal, while board members Douglas Manley, Monica Moriak and Amy Trauth voted for Shelton to stay.
Over the last few months, there’s also been discussion and votes to remove Patton, which have been unsuccessful.
In July’s meeting, it was revealed that there was a complaint by an employee that Shelton made her uncomfortable.
While the employee’s name was redacted, here’s what was shared:
“The investigation was able to corroborate a non-specific allegation of a single prior incident where as alleged in the complaint, Dr. Shelton raised his voice at (blank). However, while the investigation confirmed that there was an unpleasant interaction between Dr. Shelton and (blank) on June 3 that left (blank) deeply upset, the investigation could not confirm on June 3, 2024 Dr. Shelton yelled at (blank) or moved into (blank)’s space in an intimidating or threatening fashion. Similarly, the investigation did not reveal information sufficient to support a finding that the alleged events of June 3 were part of a broader pattern of conduct by Dr. Shelton.”
Who conducted the investigation is unclear, but the investigator was an external person hired and selected by James H. McMackin III, who is the district’s legal council.
The investigator couldn’t substantiate everything that was alleged.
There were several public comments with the majority of those supporting Shelton just like July’s meeting. in July.
There was debate among the board about approving the meeting minutes for July’s meeting – something that usually takes a few seconds and is an afterthought for most school boards.
Douglas Manley argued that he, Moriak and Trauth were not present at the end of July’s meeting so the minutes should be changed, while Patton said it was their choice to walk out of the meeting which should be reflected in the meeting minutes.
Patton said “you’re out of order” at least 10 times, to which Moriak said “I’m going to remain out of order all evening.”
Baqir argued that the district is in a bad place, citing an abundance of student safety issues, weapons in schools, fights, lack of discipline, dismal test scores, the more than 1,000 students leaving the district in recent years and more.
The nomination for interim superintendent is Bob Andrzejewski.
Those against the move cited that the investigation into Shelton found no substantial evidence of wrongdoing, and that Shelton is a “fantastic” superintendent who won superintendent of the year in Delaware just two years ago.
Bob Andrzejewski was the interim superintendent of Christina School District from October 2015 to December 2016.
Again, the vote for the new interim was divided 4 votes to 3, with lots of muffled comments spewing out from those still in the crowd after a 4-plus-hour meeting. Patton, Smith-Tucker, Lou and Baqir voted for Andrzejewski, while Manley, Moriak and Trauth voted no.
Moriak accused the “yes” voters of breaking the rules and texting each other during the meeting.
Patton again said she’s out of order, to which she replied “I did say I’d be out of order all night.”
The dozens of public comments during the beginning of the meeting were seemingly correct: that the board is acting immature, hostile and is not focusing on the duties they were elected for — to advance the educational system to produce successful children.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
