White Rock Public School’s board has violated its own policies, Oklahoma State School Board Association (OSSBA) guidelines, and the Open Meetings Act. As a result, seven of the school’s 13 teachers are resigning. No plan has been shared to stabilize the situation, and time is running out.
Despite past support for the current principal/ superintendent, the board voted 2-1 to terminate her employment. This administrator has held the dual role for six years, pulling the school from financial distress to a $1 million surplus through sheer dedication and personal financial sacrifice, while earning roughly $90,000 less than peers in similar roles.
The board mishandled the procedural vote and has drawn out the process of attempting it again. In the initial meeting, they failed to include the termination discussion on the agenda, denying the administrator legal counsel and violating OSSBA protocols—despite the board vice president’s objections and his dissenting vote.
At the next meeting, during public comments, a mother and grandmother of a former student publicly slandered the principal/superintendent and teachers by name—without interruption from the board’s president, who later asked others not to name individuals. Now, both legal and ethical concerns have been raised. If staff pursue slander lawsuits, how much of the school’s $1 million surplus could survive?
The next meeting’s agenda also promised public comment. Community members arrived early to sign in to speak. But the board president opened by declaring, in violation of the Open Meetings Act, that no public comments would be heard. The vice president attempted to relay the words of the board’s attorney to the public, but was cut off by the president. A Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy stood by—not to protect the public, but seemingly to shield the board from having to hear criticism. Now the district attorney is involved as a result of the meeting’s purpose having been fundamentally changed to the public.
A petition with over 50 signatures from parents, staff, and community members called for the board president’s resignation. He ignored it and instead secured another term. He voted to bypass the agenda item that traditionally rotates board leadership annually.
Now, with over half the teachers leaving, there’s no clear plan for hiring replacements. Confidence in the school’s future is low. Leadership appears more focused on authority than service, and the community, lacking legal recourse like recall, demands accountability in public view.
Jorge Krzyzaniak Harrah, Oklahoma