COMMENTARY: Daniels Is Tired ... So Is the Community

The current Board chair is facing the very real possibility of losing the faith of her fellow members. Lincoln could hold the key to righting her as leader, and getting this Board moving.

Mar 13, 2024

by Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

It took just over 37 minutes on Tuesday night for the School Board in Spotsylvania to approve the agenda.

What happened between the pledge of allegiance and the approval of said agenda may have well charted a course that will sink this newly formed Board before it has an opportunity to get out of the harbor. Or it may rig it for the challenging seas ahead.

(For readers’ who would like a first-hand look at what transpired, I’ve outlined and time stamped the events at the end of this article.)

But it was what happened at the 32-minute mark that was truly stunning to the few people who were in the room to witness it.

Daniels launched into a targeted and sharp rebuttal of her own Board members, accusing them of “bullying” and “harassing” her.

“I’m tired of it,” she said. “If you’re going to call me out for doing something the majority of the Board wanted to do, that is a problem for me.”

She continued: “I do not want to see [the division] destroyed by someone who has a chip on their shoulder at every [inaudible] time they come up to this dais. I am tired.”

Again, she reiterated that she could read letters that she’s “gotten from Board members, harassing, bullying.”

She then concluded with this comment: “If you don’t want to serve on this Board in a fashion that is conciliatory, collaborative, I ask that you get off the Board. I don’t have time to fight with my Board members.”

Mr. Lincoln, Please

Last November, voters sent a clear message to the Spotsylvania County School Board. They’re tired, too. Tired of the bickering. Tired of the fighting. And tired of the type of behaviors that landed the county on national news shows and made it the butt of Late Night comedy routines.

Tonight’s events could end up on national news; no one, however, will be laughing.

Boards are known to bicker. But rarely does one see that bickering - especially among those who just five short months ago were taking pictures together smiling and talking about the changes they together would make to resurrect the district - explode into a public diatribe the way it did Monday night.

Pointing out the damage done would only reinforce the fissures that were very likely torn wide open by Daniels’ speech. So instead, allow me to do what teachers, and writers, and educators are fond of doing - recommend a book.

As a life-long admirer of Abraham Lincoln, I’ve read well over a hundred tomes about his life and presidency. Few - if any - compare with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s classic study, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Goodwin captured what many historians had previously missed. The true genius of Lincoln was his forming a cabinet made of his chief political rivals for the Republican nomination in 1860 - William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates.

Too often, people surround themselves with those who are whole-heartedly behind them. And for good reason. But such loyalty creates leaders whose vision and appreciation of the problems they face to narrow. Really great leaders surround themselves with those who differ with them - sometimes in vocal and public ways. This is what Lincoln did - intentionally.

Of her classic work, and what it reveals about Lincoln the leader, Goodwin said:

This, then, is a story of Lincoln’s political genius revealed through his extraordinary array of personal qualities that enabled him to form friendships with men who had previously opposed him; to repair injured feelings that, left intended, might have escalated into permanent hostility; to assume responsibility for the failures of subordinates; to share credit with ease; and to learn from mistakes. … His success in dealing with the strong egos of the men in his cabinet suggests that in the hands of a truly great politician the qualities we generally associate with decency and morality - kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty, and empathy - can also be impressive political resources.

Daniels needs to discover the strengths on her Board of rivals, and soon. Otherwise, she risks losing the one thing that politicians desire most but rarely receive - a mandate for change.

A quarter of the way through her chairmanship, the mandate handed to Daniels has been squandered. But nine months remain.

Lincoln knew tough times as well. He found the strength to right himself, and a nation, in his rivals.

Let’s hope Daniels learns to do the same.

And by the Way …

… the Board voted to proceed with the termination of Superintendent Mark Taylor.

Events Leading up to Agenda Approval

Find the recording of the meeting here.):

Lorita Daniels moving the proceed with the termination of the superintendent’s contract. (3:25)
The motion passed 4-0. Daniels, who made the motion, abstained. Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie weren’t in attendance. (4:50)
Daniels states her reasons for abstaining, including that she does not agree with some of the “issues, or causes that have been identified because I believe we can do more. We can be intentional. (5:00)
Nicole Cole questions if the vote is not out of order, and a protracted back-and-forth about why the Board wasn’t following the agenda. (5:45)
Daniels introduces the two attorneys, and asks them to come to the podium and explain their background in educational law. (6:55)
Cole again questions if this is out of order, and cross-talk with Daniels. (7:35)
First effort to adopt the agenda. (11:00)
Cole comments on speed of the superintendent’s firing process and the handling of the agenda. (12:00)
Cole accuses Daniels of being disrespectful to Board members. (13:40)
Megan Jackson asks legal if what happened to this point regarding making a motion prior to accepting the agenda. Legal approves. (15:30)
Daniels argues that in September 2022 the chair (Kirk Twigg at the time) and board members made comments before the agenda was adopted. (17:45)
Medawar (23:00), Cole (23:50), Jackson (26:40), and Belen Rodas (27:30) question if Daniels’ preceding actions were done in a constructive manner.

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