At an impromptu meeting, KSD Board of Education President Darnel Frost, called for Julie Backer, school board member, to recuse herself from the search for the new superintendent Feb. 1. In a statement to TKC Backer said she was, “shocked and and dismayed by the actions of Darnel Frost, school board member, who joined in the attacks on me.” Backer said she was not notified about the meeting and did not attend. 

In a statement to TKC responding to Backer, Frost said, “Our number one priority as members of the Kirkwood Board of Education is keeping the best interest of our students, schools, teachers, staff and parents in mind.

At the Special Board Meeting on Saturday, February 1, we took a difficult but important step to begin a process to censure a current board member. It is my opinion that this step is the only path forward to begin to resolve what has been repeated violations of board policies by one school board member to the detriment of the school district. Please know that this decision was not made lightly and occurred only after numerous attempts had been made to resolve the issue including outside mediation and the development of internal rules, which the board member also violated.

Among our responsibilities as a Board is to provide adequate and direct means for keeping Kirkwood residents informed and involved in important updates regarding our schools and our district. 

This is especially important now as we enter a critical time for the district. With a superintendent search underway, it is important to ensure a transparent and fair process moving forward. 

During this time, we cannot, in good faith, proceed without addressing the policies that have been violated. Additional details will be shared at subsequent board meetings, including a discussion at our board meeting on February 10, and in consultation with an education attorney to ensure proper procedures are followed, I can share at this time that evidence shows the board member in question violated several ethics rules laid out in Board Policy BBF School Board Member Ethics and Board Policy BDC Closed Meetings, Records and Votes. 

Our intent is to resolve this issue swiftly and proceed with focusing our efforts on the important work that is currently underway.”

This article will be continually updated as more information is released.