Budget committee members also will get orientation on their role in determining district spending

The Medford School Board will meet Thursday to discuss district budget planning, ongoing demolition efforts at North Medford High School where the gym roof collapsed in early February, and a trio of complaints filed against board Chair Cynthia Wright.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at Oakdale Middle School, 815 S. Oakdale Ave.

The agenda includes an orientation for district budget committee members “to better understand their role on the budget committee and for discussion of the district’s general financial outlook,” the agenda states.

The meeting is the first regular board meeting since District Superintendent Bret Champion announced his resignation Feb 27.

During a March 6 work session, board members discussed plans for hiring Champion’s replacement and named Deputy Superintendent Jeanne Grazioli to fill the interim role.

While discussion of the gym demolition is on the agenda this week, district Director of Security and Safety Ron Havniear said a full update with the results of engineer assessments would likely not be ready for review until an April 10 board meeting.

In a message to the Rogue Valley Times on Wednesday, Havniear said assessments were still underway but would likely conclude “in the next couple of weeks.”

He said Wednesday that 50 percent of the structure has come down.

The gym’s roof collapsed Feb. 11, just days after a large crack appeared in a structural beam inside the gym during an athletics practice. District officials have said they believe hundreds of thousands of pounds of snow that accumulated on the gymnasium’s flat roof following an early February snowstorm contributed to the collapse.

Gym demolition began March 11, with crews slowly removing a portion of exterior walls to allow access for engineers to assess whether all or just a portion of the gym will require demolition.

A trio of complaints also will be discussed Thursday. One is marked as a follow-up to a complaint filed by board member Michael Williams against Wright.

Tensions between Williams and board members have been evident since last year when Williams spoke out over reassignment of Medford police School Resource Officer Josh Doney. Subsequent months have been marked by heated public meetings and complaints filed against and by Williams due to varying exchanges.

Champion and district staff filed a complaint against Williams over an Oct. 15, 2024, meeting at district offices, where Champion and staff said an exchange between the two men escalated, and they felt uncomfortable with Williams wearing a work tool belt containing a pair of shears and a knife — part of his work as an agricultural inspector — during school visits and board meetings.

The complaint was investigated by Oregon State Police after receiving information from the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office, but any charges were against Williams were deemed unwarranted.

In a previous complaint examined by a third-party investigator, claims by Medford School District Director of Security and Safety Ron Havniear centered around a March 12, 2024, exchange. Havniear said Williams violated district policy by harassing and bullying him and stepped outside his board member role by intervening in district administration. The investigation substantiated Havniear’s complaint.

Williams was eventually censured by the board and had restrictions put in place regarding his visits to district schools and the district offices in his capacity as a board member.

Williams filed a complaint against Wright last month, alleging the board chair threatened retaliation and attempted to pressure Williams to resign; failed to treat Williams with dignity and respect; collaborated with Champion to undermine Williams; and actively participated in creation of complaints against him.

During a more than five-hour meeting in late February, Williams offered to withdraw the complaint, but the request was denied.

Thursday’s agenda calls for an update by board vice chair Kendell Ferguson, who will “lead the board through the process and next steps.” 

A separate agenda item indicates two additional complaints filed against Wright, which are set for discussion. The complaints will be addressed under district Policy KL.

Board meeting agendas can be found online. Meetings can be attended via livestream at portal.stretchinternet.com/msbm.