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Irwin responds to comments made by Spaulding, Minich

(Editor’s Note—Virginia Irwin, a member of the Newport School Board, read the following prepared statement prior to the start of a scheduled meeting of the School Board on Thursday, April 4. Burt Spaulding Sr. was in attendance at that meeting, Kurt Minich was not present.

To my fellow school board members, the staff of the SAU and those who are watching at home, I have carefully thought about what I would say tonight regarding the behaviors at the last school board meeting on April 4th.

I was not in attendance but did watch the re-run on NCTV. I re-wrote and re-wrote these remarks until I got rid of all the vitriol of my own so that I could, hopefully, make some cogent remarks.

To say that I was appalled at the behavior of some of the adults in this room that evening would be an understatement. I could not fathom the anger and hostility that was being leveled at members of this board and the staff of SAU 43. It was mind numbing to see grown men reduced to name calling and school yard bully behavior. And I asked myself, “to what end”? To show the audience that they could be bullies? Well that was successful. To provide some thoughtful criticism of some action of this board or someone on the SAU staff? Well that was not convincingly evidenced. I concluded that there really was no point and once one of the orators began the other felt empowered to join in the fray.

I am ashamed that as part of this board, I have not taken a stronger stand at this type of behavior which we endure week after week from two of the 6,100 citizens of Newport. I am ashamed that when comments towards our Superintendent bordered on disrespect and diminished into demeaning, I did not speak up. And I am sorry that the conduct exhibited by Burt Spaulding Sr. and Kurt Minich at the April 4thmeeting was not shut down by the Chairman of this board. I realize that is very difficult to do, given the venomous nature of the comments that were being leveled at both the board and the staff.

So now let’s review what occurred. I believe that from time to time Mr. Spaulding thinks his offerings and diatribes are to be taken as useful, to correct some perceived wrong or error on our part. What is disappointing is the fact that he cannot deliver his message without taking the adversarial position rather than one of constructive criticism.

For reasons I have never figured out over the 35 years or so that I have listen to his lectures, he cannot deliver a message without going on the offensive. Perhaps that is how he has made his way through this world, always assuming that he had to be on the defensive, that people would not respect his word or listen to what he had to say. To his credit he does do a tremendous amount of research once he gets focused on some topic and he takes copious notes when in meetings. I do wonder if he has one room in his home just housing those ubiquitous yellow pads he is rarely without.

The problem as I see it is that he is often just a bit off the mark and rather than let anyone correct him, he challenges, challenges, challenges.

I was aghast at his descent into school yard name calling when George Caccavaro tried to respond to something Mr. Spaulding said but it is not an unfamiliar pattern with him. He cannot share airtime and engage in true dialogue. And once he perceives his back is against the wall, he comes out “guns a blazing.” As I said I have listened to these diatribes for nigh onto 35 years, so nothing surprises me.

On occasion I am appreciative of something he has to offer and I ignore his righteous indignation. As many a board member from a variety of local boards are often heard to say, “Bert is just Bert.” That does not give him the right to be insulting and demeaning however, and I would expect better of him as we move forward.

Mr. Minich is another story all together. Being on the school board is really my first encounter with him. He seems like a nice person on the surface but his performance (and he does play to the watching crowd) on April 4thwas appalling and shameful. Most of the time his drivel is delivered in incomplete sentences, often losing his place, and is terribly repetitive.

I don’t think he has ever presented anything of value to help improve the education of our students or support to our staff. I finally had to ask him what was his point? What did he expect to change or happen based on his remarks? He replied, and I paraphrase, “I am all about the kids/students and the teachers”. Really???

How has your commentary week after week after week, criticizing the changes at Towle help students and teachers? Not one, not one student has said to me, “please, please let me go back to Towle to the building that has no bathrooms on the first floor, that is hot in the summer and cold in the winter.”

Not one, not one teacher or staff member has said to me, “please, please let me teach/work in a building that is not accessible, where the wind blows through old windows and freezes the classroom, where we have no lunch room or common space and have one hole bathrooms on the second floor”. How many students and staff have pleaded with him to open up that building?

Mr. Minich, I say to you for the last time, Towle is no longer an elementary or a middle or a high school. It is Towle Resource Center supporting ancillary activity required in the district and as a place to support other needs of our community.

You have said that facility space needs to be just for teaching. We heard that – one thing positive I guess you did have to offer – and we moved the ancillary and SAU functions out of teaching space to accommodate classes. Yes, we did move a few times in as many years; we tried some configurations of space utilization and realized that some of those ideas did not work the best for teaching and learning.

But I for one do not want to re-hash past efforts. I want to move this district forward, stabilize our staff and strengthen the leadership of the district. I am committed to getting our fiscal house in order and am doing the best I can with the resources being put forth.

You, sir, have got to get past your perceived peccadillos against you, and move on. This question is rhetorical: why do you care what is now happing at the bus barn? You don’t work there anymore. Why do you think that constantly harping on what happened instead of what could happen is of benefit to anyone? How do your comments help one student? Because you speak the same every meeting and say the same thing over and over, I confess I don’t hear you anymore.

I did hear you, however, when you made your disgusting remarks and used childish name calling toward the Superintendent. What in heaven’s name were you thinking? Or perhaps you were not and got caught up in the frenzy stirred up by Mr. Spaulding. For you to call the Superintendent a ‘jackass” is demeaning at best and slander at worst. You, sir, are an embarrassment. I bet your wife was really proud to see her grown husband reducing himself to a six-year-old bully who resorted to name calling. How proud you must be of yourself.

Since I don’t know your behaviors as well as I do Mr. Spaulding’s, I cannot let you think that is acceptable speech at a school board, or any board for that matter, meeting. Free speech is free speech, but slander crosses the line.

To that end, Madam Chairman, I move that the Newport School Board, immediately suspend public comment and public participation indefinitely until we can consult with Council and the New Hampshire School Boards Association to develop appropriate polices for such action at future meetings. As part of this motion, we also suspend School Board Policies BEDB, KEB, KE, and BEDH, all of which govern or address public comment. Furthermore, I ask that we query school boards across the state to see how they allow public comment and public participation. I believe that the New Hampshire School Boards Association can assist in this effort.

Thank you,

Virginia O’Brien Irwin

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