Police escort Rodney Jones from school board meeting

A yearly meeting on the school district’s upcoming budget was recessed twice within the first 45 minutes, following a dispute between school board members and supporters of Lincoln Memorial Academy. The disagreement led board officials to call for the removal of Rodney Jones, former president of the Manatee County branch of the NAACP, for the second time in recent weeks.

The district advertised Tuesday’s meeting as a public hearing on the tentative 2019-2020 budget. It came one week after the board voted 4-1 to take control of Lincoln, citing concerns with its budget and leadership, and supporters of the Palmetto-based charter school attended Tuesday’s meeting.

“Public Hearing for the Board to hear public comments regarding the adoption of the 2019-2020 Tentative Budget in the Amount of $768,517,364 and the adoption of the 2019-2020 Tentative Millage Rate of 7.1350 and answer questions related thereto,” the agenda states.

Chairman Dave Miner issued a warning to guests at the meeting’s start, foreshadowing the events to follow. He said public comment was solely for concerns about the district budget.

“Any protest or attempt, you will be asked to sit down,” he said. “Please restrain yourself from that. If that request is not followed, I will be asking for you to be escorted out of this room. Let me make it very clear: this will be a business meeting of the school board.”

Vice-Chair Gina Messenger followed his comments, urging public speakers to focus on the district’s tentative budget. Both said the community would have an opportunity to speak on other topics at the regular meeting on Aug. 13.

Eddie Hundley, the founder of Lincoln and its former principal, was one of the first to speak during public comment.

“I want to talk about the budget as it pertains to Lincoln Memorial Academy,” he said.

“I’m sorry, you’re not going to be allowed to comment on that,” Miner responded. “Lincoln Memorial is not part of this budget.”

Hundley then continued his public comment, omitting Lincoln from the questions.

“I’m curious as to the impact on the 2019-2020 budget for any school that has their enrollment stopped, and has their students unenrolled, when we know that enrollment is a big factor once Survey 2 comes around,” Hundley said.

“I’m also asking if the pending budgetary investigation for any school, regarding Title I funds that may have been due them, that have been going on for a couple of months, will be resolved prior to the approval of this budget,” he continued.

Before the school board ousted them last week, Hundley and his governing board accused the district of withholding federal Title I funds and purposely stunting enrollment at the school, claims that were quickly disputed by the district.

The school board’s chairman soon intervened, restating that Tuesday’s meeting was solely for the district-wide budget, not questions about specific schools or other topics.

Jones then stood for public comment, issuing a warning of his own.

“Ya’ll are treading a fine line on people’s First Amendment freedom of speech,” he said.

At the request of Miner, police soon escorted Jones from the board room. Authorities tried to escort Jones from last week’s meeting, after he addressed a board member from the audience, but guests blocked the door and protested the move, preventing Jones’ removal.

At the urging of fellow community members, Jones left the meeting on Tuesday. The board was recessed just 15 minutes after it started.

After the meeting reconvened, several others questioned the school board and pledged support for Lincoln. One asked how much from the budget was slated for curriculum at Lincoln, and another referenced issues with payroll at the school.

One resident questioned board member James Golden, asking why the school board remained silent during public comment. As Golden began to respond, Miner said he was out of order, again calling for a recess.

Later in the meeting, board member Charlie Kennedy said it was uncommon for board members to respond during public comment, though it was not prohibited.

While it was not included on Tuesday’s agenda, the school board’s structure for public comment is frequently published before meetings.

“The Board appreciates the public’s input and will listen attentively, consider each comment, and usually will not respond, enter into debate, or answer questions during comments on agenda items or during the public comments section,” it states.

Public comment is also governed by Florida Statute 286.0114, which assigns certain rights to the community and the school board.

“Members of the public shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before a board or commission,” it states.

“This section does not prohibit a board or commission from maintaining orderly conduct or proper decorum in a public meeting,” it continues. “The opportunity to be heard is subject to rules or policies adopted by the board or commission, as provided in subsection (4).”

As the meeting came to a close, the board’s chairman said it was challenging to balance ongoing issues and the business at hand.

“Disallowing a Q-and-A between the audience and board members is to avoid chaos,” Miner said, going on to address the crowd.

“The matter concerning Lincoln Memorial Academy is something that touches us all,” he continued. “This board, with great consideration, moved ahead for the children and for the teachers.”

This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 8:23 PM.