School board approves second censure against Magnus
- Published: February 27, 2025
The school board held a brief special meeting Friday, Feb. 7, with the only two agenda items being the rescission and replacement of a censure the board approved in January and the approval of a second censure.
As the News reported last month, the board voted during a Jan. 9 meeting to censure member Amy Magnus for explicit language directed at Superintendent Terri Holden following a Dec. 12, 2024, board meeting.
During a portion of the Jan. 9 meeting set aside for an apology from Magnus to Holden, board member Dorothée Bouquet cited board policy 3362.01, which pertains to “Threatening Behavior,” and reads, in part: “Any … 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.” After a period of deliberation, Bouquet moved to censure Magnus; board member Judith Hempfling agreed; and the board voted 4–0 to approve the censure, with Magnus abstaining.
During the Feb. 7 special meeting — at which Magnus was not present — Board President Rebecca Potter noted that the board had received advice from the school district’s legal counsel that the language of the censure be changed. Potter said counsel advice was that the motion made on Jan. 9 “addressed a policy that is more applicable to staff and also usually requires a procedure of complaints, investigation, etc.”
“[Legal counsel] recommended that we use our … policy that directly pertains to our code of ethics,” Potter said.
The revised version of the censure resolution refers to board policy 0123, “Code of Ethics,” noting that Magnus violated the bylaw’s “expectations that Board members work with others, and that Board members encourage ongoing communications among Board members and staff.”
The censure was rescinded and replaced following a 4–0 vote of approval.
Next on the agenda was consideration of a second resolution of censure against Magnus for violation of “Board Bylaw 0123(C), which requires Board members to respect the confidentiality of privileged information.”
The censure refers to a post Magnus made in a social media group following the Jan. 9 censure, which included a digital copy of email correspondence between board members and district legal counsel ahead of the censure vote. The posted correspondence was marked as being “privileged and confidential” and “not a public record,” and has since been removed from social media. Potter noted ahead of voting on the censure that the board could not discuss the contents of the correspondence.
The board again voted 4–0 to approve the second resolution of censure before adjourning.
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