Medford School Board members voted during a Thursday work session to dismiss complaints made against two board members during a Sept. 19 board meeting.

South Medford High social studies teacher Paul Cynar, a grievance chair for the teacher’s union, submitted the complaint in an unofficial capacity “to express how deeply unsatisfied and offended the majority of teachers who attended the special session on 8-27 are, and with the comments made by Jeff Kinsella and Cynthia Wright during the board retreat on 8-30.”

Cynar said comments by Kinsella during the August meeting and retreat called into question the professionalism of district teachers “due to the unfair and false picture painted by the board.” He took issue with the discussion during the retreat regarding rules governing audience participation, as well as statements made in an email by board chair Wright.

Cynar told the Rogue Valley Times he initially emailed the board demanding a public apology and submitted the complaint after being told by Wright that “board members stand by their comments.”

During the Thursday work session, three complaints were reviewed separately, with Kinsella and Wright reiterating that they stood by their previous statements, while also elaborating on the context of previous discussions. Kinsella read from a prepared statement, detailing his background in education and stating that he has “a deep understanding for what is required to be an effective teacher and a positive role model for my students and my fellow employees.”

“I have spent 36 years building a good and respected reputation. Mr. Cynar’s disparaging public comments about me have undermined my reputation,” Kinsella said.

“He claimed that the teachers were the cause of all the outbursts. This is a complete misstatement. … My statement was made in the context of an hourlong discussion at the board retreat about audience behavior. My statement is directed at any teacher who may have acted in a manner they would not want their students to act.”

District legal counsel Thad Pauck said under board policy KL, which governs complaints filed against staff or board members, “it’s up to the board to decide whether an investigation into this complaint is warranted and whether further action is warranted.”

“The real issue is whether the statements themselves were defamatory of any teachers in the school district,” he told the board last week. Under state guidelines, Pauck said he did not believe claims of defamation were founded.

Board members voted unanimously — member Michael Williams arrived after the vote was taken — to dismiss the complaint against Kinsella. Board member Michelle Atkinson spoke briefly and said the board should “reaffirm our commitment to fostering respectful dialogue and that we do care about our teachers very much, and I want them to know that we do.”

A pair of complaints against Wright warranted similar discussion. Wright said she initiated a phone call with Cynar to discuss his concerns and subsequently emailed the board to report on the interaction.

“Since the premise of his complaint seemed to be founded on a misunderstanding, I thought a simple phone call clarifying this point might be helpful. When I tried to clarify the misunderstanding while on the phone call, Mr. Cynar interrupted me and said he was now aware of that fact and that it didn’t matter. His demands remained the same,” Wright said Thursday.

“I told him that I didn’t believe that any of us intended to apologize for making those statements during our board retreat but that I would email him my response.”

Pauck said that Cynar’s pair of complaints against Wright did not meet criteria for investigation and that Wright’s statements about the meeting being disrupted could be verified from a recording of the meeting.

In a second vote, board members voted to dismiss Cynar’s complaints against Wright; that vote was also unanimous by those present, with Williams absent until a later portion of the work session.

Contacted by the Times Friday, Cynar voiced frustration at not being told a decision could be made during the work session regarding his complaints.

Cynar said “the hypocrisy was palpable” with the board reviewing complaints against fellow board members and Kinsella voicing concerns for his own reputation “when he challenged the professionalism of the teachers he makes policies for and impugned their character for doing nothing other than using their constitutionally protected First Amendment rights.”

“He went so far as to claim that he has heard no worries from teachers he knows,” Cynar said. “Yet, he never once reached out to me, the complainant, or asked in any way for members who have reached out to me about his misconduct. Those members would likely never reach out to him or this current board as they fear retribution and retaliation for doing so.

“What is, however, damaging to his character is the fact that I reached out in an email, which was not public record, and asked for an apology. He said then through Board Chair Wright that he stood by his words. … After I was forced to file a public complaint to correct this wrong, he reiterated that sentiment again in the most recent board meeting. … Mr. Kinsella spoke about his record as an educator. One of the greatest responsibilities of an educator is to be fair and honorable with students. He was neither fair in his statements, nor honorable when defending his attack on teachers … writ large,” Cynar said.

Cynar said the board and Pauck misunderstood sarcasm in his email and said the board “should not be as concerned about whether a legal threshold for defamation has been met, but rather if a member of the board should be held accountable for acting dishonorably.”

Cynar said the board “never even asked my take on any of the complaints.”

“Even worse, they freely admit they are not sure which comments I may have meant, or why I claim there were falsehoods,” he added. “The very thing which would require further investigation, yet they dismissed anyway.”

Board members on Thursday also heard from principals of district secondary schools pertaining to the district’s cell phone policy. No decisions were made.

Board members voted to cancel a Nov. 7 work session due to a schedule conflict with the Oregon School Board Association fall conference. The next regular school board meeting is set for Nov. 21.