District 227 board member joins audience

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Rich Township High School District 227 board member Cheryl Coleman

Updated: March 24, 2012 9:03AM

Cheryl Coleman decided she wasn’t getting enough information from her colleagues on the Rich Township High School District 227 board. So she tried a different tactic Tuesday night, speaking from the audience as a regular citizen would.

Frustrated by what she views as a lack of attention to various matters — especially student academic intervention — Coleman said she had hoped for better results if she approached the board as a nonmember would.

“Since my question wasn’t answered the last two times I asked it as a board member, maybe I’ll ask it as a concerned citizen this time,” she said.

Coleman has been feuding with some board members and district officials for months over internal cooperation.

Late last year, school district officials pledged they would follow certain rules of conduct when it came to dealing with each other. But in November, Coleman said the board’s rules were “not working for me right now” because she felt her proposals weren’t being given fair consideration.

At the time, board President Betty Owens said that for members’ proposals to get on the agenda for consideration they needed to first speak with Supt. Donna Leak.

On Tuesday, Coleman did not take her seat at the meeting with other board members. Instead, she sat in the audience.

She asked several questions about academic intervention, and whether parents are involved in the process. She also wanted to know how the school measures whether such interventions are a success.

Coleman also asked for principal recommendations on how to reduce tardies and what the enrichment program will look like next year since the district recently dropped a class period from its school day.

Owens said Coleman should have raised her questions privately with Leak, and that many of Coleman’s questions already have been addressed.

“(Board members) are free to have a meeting with the superintendent, who will refer them to the appropriate staff members,” Owens said.

She said the board’s job is to govern but not micromanage the superintendent.

Leak was not available for commment Wednesday. Assistant Supt. Jennifer Norrell explained the intervention program, saying that if a student is struggling, he or she can go to a tutor during an “enrichment period.” After three weeks, the students’ needs are reassessed, she said.

Parents are invited to meetings that include teachers, the school social worker, the counselor and the school psychologist, she said.

Coleman never took her board seat at Tuesday’s meeting, leaving shortly after her comments.