The sounds of cheering that echoed down the halls of Oakdale Middle School on Tuesday night might have sounded like a pep rally if not for the intermittent booing that erupted nearly as often.

Just under 100 community members turned out for a special meeting of the Medford School Board, called to address a complaint filed in recent weeks against a board member.

While neither the subject of the complaint nor the person who filed it have been named publicly, the announcement immediately followed community outcry over the reassignment of School Resource Officer Josh Doney and district board member Michael Williams voicing his concerns about the SRO’s sudden transfer.

Audience members trickled in just before 5:30 p.m. A dozen showed up at first, then dozens more, with nearly 100 arriving in just over 15 minutes. Some wore suspenders — a nod to Williams, who always wears them — and T-shirts declaring “I stand with Doney,” a quote attributed to Williams.

Several Medford police officers were on hand to guide the crowd and, after the meeting, help clear the room.

Williams made waves by speaking out about Officer Doney’s reassignment and about concerns that Doney was put back on patrol duties because he challenged district security director Ron Havniear. Williams has said he was speaking on his own behalf, not that of the board.

School district officials and the Medford Police Department initially issued a pair of joint statements, on July 19 and July 23, that presented Doney’s reassignment as routine and said rumors that the SRO was transferred for raising safety concerns were untrue.

Superintendent Bret Champion then sent an email to faculty and families stating that Doney’s transfer was “due to an accumulation of concerns with regard to (school district) SRO Standards and Expectations.”

School board Chair Cynthia Wright also emailed district families, airing concerns with media coverage of Doney’s reassignment and voicing frustration with Williams’ speaking independently of the board and for visiting schools. Wright also reiterated that Doney “wasn’t meeting our SRO standards.”

The board met Tuesday afternoon to address the complaint, which they discussed in an executive session scheduled to “consider information or records exempt by law from public inspection,” the meeting agenda said.

When the board reconvened in open session, Wright called for a motion.

“A written complaint alleging improper conduct on behalf of a board member was received from a district administrator. Pursuant to board policy KL” — which addresses complaints — “the complaint was referred to me as board chair. A copy of the complaint was also previously delivered to each board member by the district’s legal counsel,” Wright said.

“Does any board member wish to bring forth any reasons the complaint should not be referred for investigation pursuant to board policy KL?”

Board member Jeff Kinsella made the motion to refer the complaint for investigation. Board member Suzanne Messer seconded the motion.

The audience erupted in boos. One man shouted, “Don’t ask questions here!”

Attempting to speak over the audience, Wright said a third-party investigation would be “the best decision” for the complainant and the board member against whom the complaint was made.

Board members Kinsella, Messer, Michelle Atkinson and Kendell Ferguson voted “yes.”

Board member Lilia Caballero abstained. Pressed by Wright for her reason, Caballero stated, “I’m not comfortable with this decision,” to which the audience applauded.

Caballero, a Medford Police Department employee and a candidate to serve as a state representative, contacted the Rogue Valley Times on Wednesday to clarify that, based on information that was not public and that she could not divulge at the time, she felt she had a “potential conflict of interest.”

Following Caballero’s abstention, Williams cast the lone “no” vote after a long pause, followed by cheers and clapping from the audience.

With the motion passing, a woman yelled from the back of the room, “Disgusting!”

Other audience members shouted, “We stand with you, Michael!”

“Remember we’re watching, Bret!”

“Our kids are totally unsafe because of you, Bret. If anything happens, it’s on you!”

Wright said in a statement to the Times on Wednesday: “While confidentiality prevents us from sharing specific details right now, we are dedicated to transparency and due process. The results of the investigation will be shared in a public meeting.”

After Tuesday’s meeting, district parent Nathanael Swan, wearing an “I support Josh Doney” T-shirt, voiced frustration at the board’s decision and Champion’s lack of a statement to the board or audience.

“Parents are sick of the district. Administration is huge. We all know it. Bret gets a raise no matter what. We have layoffs. We have a $15-million deficit. Our kids aren’t safe. And Bret still gets a raise. It’s not a good look,” Swan said.

“It’s administratively top-heavy, and if you ask any questions, you get trespassed like we did and you get pushed back like (Williams) did.”

When the board adjourned, the crowd remained. Some audience members walked over to hug Williams and shake his hand.

“From the bottom of my heart, I’m so grateful to see a full room at a school board meeting. I think this is beautiful,” Williams said.

“I think that this is what our community needs. This is what the kids need. This is what people who work in the buildings with the kids need, is us here. I’m so grateful that, for whatever reason, I ended up being able to be a part of seeing that happen.”

Williams told the crowd, “There’s a lot more to this. I’m not discouraged, whatsoever. Bottom of my heart, thank you for being here, and maybe I’ll see you at another one, because we’re not done.”

Donovan Donnally, a district parent, said Williams deserved the community’s support for standing up for what’s right.

“We need this in every school district, you know? Not only Medford, but everywhere,” Donnally said. “It’s disgusting what the board is doing.”

Former student Simone Johnson said she attended the meeting to support Williams and Doney. Johnson said she was disappointed by the board decision.

“There are a lot of problems in the school. People are not being safe, and they’re not protecting students,” she said.

“And then they’re shutting out everybody who tries to speak up.”

District employee Lisa North commended Williams for visiting schools. North said faculty has experienced a pattern with the district of “bringing up concerns, they nod their heads and then nothing changes.”

“This is my 28th year as a teacher — my 27th year in Medford schools — and I saw Michael in buildings more last year than I’ve seen all board members combined in the last 10 years,” North said.

“As educators, we come and we talk, we share things, nothing happens, nothing changes. They listen and nod their heads and make you feel like you were listened to, then they go and make policy that is completely opposite to everything that you’ve shared. Michael hasn’t done that … As educators, we appreciate Michael and the way he’s done his job. I never in a million years thought that he would be crucified for that.”

Williams’ wife, Jessica Williams, said it was emotional to see the level of community support for her husband.

“It was good to see everybody show up. Everyone was so gracious and kind. I’ve seen Michael do hard things his whole life … but to see him recognized, and to see people seeing him the way that I see him, was pretty special,” she said.

“When I was on my way up, there was a woman who was like, ‘I haven’t been to this school in 20 years.’ She asked me, ‘Why are you here?’ And I said, ‘I’m married to Michael Williams.’ She became emotional and she said, ‘We appreciate his bravery and integrity so much.’”

Williams said her husband is “exactly as he seems to be.”

“His integrity is impeccable, and he went into this knowing that he was right and that he told the truth. He’s not afraid, and it doesn’t matter what their position was,” she added.

“Michael doesn’t like bullies. He’s a fighter with a lot of heart. He’ll stand up for anybody. It’s just who he is all the time. … Everyone thinks this was something out of the ordinary, but for Michael this was just a Tuesday.”