School board censures member Amy Magnus
- Published: January 31, 2025
The school board’s most recent meeting Thursday, Jan. 9, included an agenda item that concerned an apology offered by board member Amy Magnus. The discussion of that agenda item ended in a 4–0 vote in favor of censuring Magnus, with Magnus abstaining from the vote.
The apology from Magnus referred to an incident that took place following the board’s Dec. 12 meeting. Those events were not captured on the livestream that accompanies the board’s public meetings, but surveillance video that has since been shared in several places online shows Magnus pointing in the direction of district Superintendent Terri Holden and shouting. Partial audio of the incident captured Magnus referring to Holden as a “b—h.”
An apology letter from Magnus was included in agenda items for the Jan. 9 meeting and may be read in full at http://www.bit.ly/4jdsOBY. Magnus writes, in part: “I apologize for losing my temper after the school board meeting. I am embarrassed for my use of coarse language but let me go further. I hope to use this moment for proper introspection and as a teaching moment to myself as well as others.”
The letter goes on to express a “sincere apology to the superintendent.”
“No woman should be subjected to that gendered slur,” Magnus writes. “I’m deeply sorry that came out of me in a moment of indignation and exasperation.”
Late in the meeting, Magnus offered a verbal apology, saying: “I didn’t meet my own standards that night … and I want to take the opportunity to say I am sorry, not just to the people in that room, but especially the people in that room.”
During the community comments portion of the meeting earlier in the evening, more than 20 local residents spoke about the events of Dec. 12, noting their shock and disappointment over the language Magnus directed toward the superintendent.
Several also referred to a comment made by Magnus during the Dec. 12 meeting; as the News reported last month, when board member Amy Bailey attempted to interject while Magnus was speaking during that meeting, Magnus responded: “Excuse me. Let me finish. We can rumble anytime.” Though Magnus said during the Dec. 12 meeting that the comment was meant in jest, Holden responded to the comment by saying: “We cannot get to this point where we’re talking about fighting at a board meeting.”
The action that was before the board on the Jan. 9 agenda was a vote to accept or reject the apology letter offered by Magnus. Board President Rebecca Potter and board member Dorothée Bouquet both thanked Magnus for writing the letter, but said they did not believe the letter addressed the incidents of Dec. 12 in totality.
Bouquet asserted that Magnus’s comments toward both Bailey and Holden constituted a violation of board policy 3362.01, which pertains to “Threatening Behavior.”
The policy reads, in part: “Threatening behavior consisting of any words or deeds that intimidate a staff member or cause anxiety concerning his/her physical well-being is strictly forbidden. Any student, parent, visitor, staff member, or agent of this Board who is found to have threatened a member of the staff will be subject to discipline or reported to the authorities.”
With this policy in mind, Bouquet suggested that Magnus be the one to call for a censure.
“You have one way to rise above, make this painful process go away, regain respect, set an example for our kids and fulfill your role as a board member of a public school district,” Bouquet said.
Potter noted that Magnus’ letter included references to speaking with Dayton Mediation Center following the Dec. 12 meeting. In place of a censure, Potter suggested that Magnus continue to work with the center to “draft an apology that fully addresses the impact of her outburst on Dec. 12” and that she and Magnus speak with an expert on how “interruptions that could lead to stress and expressions of anger can best be managed in the board meeting setting.” However, she said she didn’t believe a censure would “change things,” but that an “honest conversation … may have some benefit if we all commit to it.”
Vice President Judith Hempfling shared her fellow board members’ concerns over Magnus’ behavior toward Holden following the Dec. 12 meeting, calling it “totally unacceptable.” She maintained, however, that “tensions were through the roof” and that Magnus was “interrupted several times” by Holden during the meeting, and added that she believed Magnus’ assertion that the comment directed toward Bailey was not meant as a threat.
“The way due process works, you can’t just say, ‘You threatened somebody,’ and then insist that that’s true,” she said.
Bailey pointed out that she had not yet been asked, “by any board member or any leadership,” about her view of the comment that was directed at her, which she said brought her concern “in terms of gathering all of the accurate information.”
“What I want to know is, what warrants a censure?” Bailey asked.
District Treasurer Jacob McGrath, in a prepared statement he read before the board, reported that he believed Magnus had violated the board’s anti-harassment policy, saying he had asked Magnus multiple times not to touch him or to follow him to his vehicle after meetings — requests he said have been repeatedly ignored. He also said he believed Magnus’ apology letter was not adequate, in that it did not include apologies either to Bailey or to himself.
“I call on you to take full responsibility for your own actions [on Dec. 12], without explanation or past justifications of old perceived slights,” he said.
Both Potter and Bouquet noted in their statements that the person who stood to accept or reject Magnus’ apology was Holden, and not the board — though Holden said she was being put in a “difficult position.”
“No matter what I do, I’m going to own the end result here — and by that I mean, if I don’t accept an apology, I’m just not a real woman,” she said. “I’m wondering how I accept or don’t accept an apology; what message do I send to the children, when we try to teach them to rise above, to take the high road, when I’m feeling like we’re not there yet?”
Bouquet communicated a concern that not voting on a censure for Magnus would “normalize the tolerance of this kind of behavior.” Bailey agreed, saying she believed that a censure was “the only way forward.” Bouquet moved to censure Magnus, and was seconded by Bailey.
“This will not get any easier if we drag this on,” Bouquet said. “I just want this to be done.”
Hempfling stated that she believed there were multiple issues that the “leadership team has not been behaving very well about,” but that she believed Magnus’ “outburst was at another level.”
“I would support a censure,” she said.
The board voted 4–0 to reject the apology letter submitted by Magnus, and voted 4–0 to approve a censure, with Magnus abstaining from both votes.
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