Manatee school board considers changes to heightened security at meetings. Here’s why

After four months of heightened security, crowd ejections and recent controversy, the School Board of Manatee County is considering a change to its meetings.

Bag checks, metal detectors and other security measures are likely to remain at Manatee County school board meetings. However, during its meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the board discussed possible changes.

According to an email obtained by the Bradenton Herald, the security measures — introduced on Aug. 13 — are directly related to the outcry and the perceived threats that followed the school board’s takeover of Lincoln Memorial Academy on July 23.

Rodney Jones, former leader of the Manatee NAACP and a vocal supporter of the school, was arrested at a meeting in October after he spoke out from his seat and then refused to leave.

On Tuesday afternoon, board member James Golden said there should be “no law enforcement action unless there is a direct threat to the board.”

“I know from experience that a direct threat constitutes more than just words,” Golden said.

He also called for an alternative to the ejection of citizens. Instead, he said, they should respond with actions that diffuse the situation, pausing the meeting when necessary.

“Before we try to take anybody’s liberties away, I have no problem with an immediate recess, whatever the incident is, whether you’re talking, whether you’re cursing, whether you disagree or whether you’re clapping,” he said.

Board member Dave Miner soon disagreed, citing the need for an orderly meeting.

“If they are not going to conduct themselves in a mature, orderly way, then they don’t belong and they should be asked to leave, and if they don’t leave, they should be escorted out,” Miner said. “If they resist, they should be arrested.”

Charlie Kennedy, the board’s new vice chair, has questioned why the security procedures were implemented without a review by the school board or a vote of its members. On Tuesday afternoon, Kennedy said he was most concerned with the heightened presence of school guardians and police officers.

“When the public enters, it just feels like we are in this heightened security state, which I don’t think is welcoming to the public,” he said, calling for a reduction in security staff.

Board Member Scott Hopes supported the continued use of certain policies, such as a rule against standing. However, he also said the district could work alongside law enforcement and reassess other security measures.

“There was a time when law enforcement felt we needed more because we had people jumping up in their seats and things like that,” Hopes said.

School guardians, armed security guards with no law enforcement authority, first appeared outside the board meeting on Aug. 13. Citizens were handed a one-page summary of the new security measures before their bags were searched and their clothes were screened with a hand-held metal detector.

“Due to safety concerns associated with School Board Members and/or Meetings, and after conferring with the Bradenton Police Department, the following security measures shall be put in place for all School Board Meetings,” the notice read.

The notice, which stopped short of naming the specific concerns or the author of Manatee’s new measures, went on to list several restrictions. It said guests had to remain seated, and that attendance would be limited to the number of seats in the board room.

Three months later, on the morning of Nov. 19, district spokesman Mike Barber sent an email to school board members, explaining the reasons for Manatee’s heightened security. The email, prompted by Superintendent Cynthia Saunders, was sent hours before the school board met to elect a new chair.

“Ms. Saunders asked me to send you the email below that contains background on the reasons for implementing increased security protocols in the School Board Chamber,” the email states.

“The video links and social media postings below are part of the background ... that led school district leaders to work with local Law Enforcement to establish updated security protocols to regain and maintain control of school board meetings,” it continues.

The email started by linking to a video of the July 23 meeting, when board members voted to take control of Lincoln Memorial Academy and terminate the school’s charter, citing issues its finances and leadership.

School supporters packed the board chambers and protested from their seats, a contentious meeting that boiled over with the attempted removal of Jones.

Dave Miner, then the chairman, asked Bradenton police officers to remove Jones for speaking out. A crowd soon blocked the exit, chanting and preventing Jones’ removal.

The email also linked to a video of the special budget meeting on July 30, one week after the school takeover. Jones used the start of his public comment to address what he viewed as restrictive comment guidelines.

“You all are treading a fine line on abridging people’s First Amendment freedom of speech,” he said, before two officers escorted him out at the request of then-Chairman Miner.

The email goes on to quote Jones’ social media posts and his statements at past board meetings. Each statement was made between September and November, after the security measures were already in place.

“I’m telling you, somebody is going to slap the taste out your mouth over there for what you did to these kids ... I don’t know who and I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but you better be real careful, man,” he said in a video posted to Facebook on Oct. 17, addressing board member James Golden.

“We’re not as tolerant of this stuff as we used to be,” he continued. “I don’t condone any violence, and I’m going to say that right now, please nobody slap the taste out of his mouth, but man, you’re going to get the taste slapped out of your mouth for what you did to those kids.”

Jones has continually referred to Golden, the board’s only black member, as a “sellout” for supporting the takeover of Lincoln, a school that primarily serves minority students.

On Tuesday afternoon, Golden said insults were disruptive and unwarranted, but he still supported the need to diffuse conflicts.

“You’re not going to threaten me because you boo even though we say you can’t boo,” Golden said. “That’s not a threat. It may hurt my feelings and make me feel bad — that’s not what this is about. All you’re doing is embarrassing yourself.”

The security measures further agitated Lincoln supporters and other Manatee residents when Paul Damico, chief of safety and security for the school district, ejected a local pastor for standing near the back of the room. Arthur Huggins said he was quietly standing against the wall, stretching his aching back.

Superintendent Saunders later apologized for the incident, citing the need for “compassion and common sense when instituting safety protocols.”

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Miner said the district removed several chairs in the meeting room, making room for people who use wheelchairs and those who need to stand.

“I think we need to do a better job in communicating to the public the protocol,” he said. “It’s not designed to intimidate. It’s not designed to squash. It’s designed to provide safety to everyone.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 5:00 AM.