The Medford School Board on Thursday voted for the second time in recent months to censure board member Michael Williams over a pair of complaints alleging he violated multiple school board policies during a heated exchange with Superintendent Bret Champion in October.

The exchange, centering around safety and Williams’ activities as a board member, resulted in a pair of complaints lodged by Champion and 10 district office employees, some of whom said the exchange prompted them to contemplate calling 911. The board was set to discuss the complaints during a November board meeting, but Williams was absent from the meeting based on the advice of his attorney.

Williams was present Thursday and made a pair of statements before leaving — again on his attorney’s advice — during discussion of the complaints. One statement was on his own behalf, prepared by his attorney; a second was directed to district legal counsel Thad Pauck and School Board Chair Cynthia Wright.

Williams alerted fellow board members that he was going to physically stand to distribute printed copies of the statements, noting, “I am going to rise now and I’m going to hand it out. … I don’t want anyone to get alarmed, so I’m gonna stand up and I’m gonna hand it out and then I’m gonna sit back down and read the two statements.”

The first statement, which can be heard on the meeting audio, stated that Williams’ “initial inquiries, out of concern for the safety of our students, have been met with restrictions placed on my communications, travel to schools within this district and threats that I will be deemed a trespasser, and law enforcement will be contacted against me.”

An earlier complaint to the board, made by district security director, Ron Havniear, was the source of the initial complaint, resulting in censuring. A later criminal complaint was made by district officials related to Williams wearing a sheathed knife and pair of shears — tools used for his job as an agricultural inspector — on district property. Of the latest complaints, Williams noted, criminal allegations were deemed unfounded by an Oregon State Police investigation, and the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office said Williams committed no crime.

Williams, however, pointed out that his activities had still been restricted.

“Superintendent Champion, in his complaint, admits that he used a loud voice at me. There were two individuals involved in this discussion. Superintendent Champion and myself, yet I am the only person subject to a complaint,” Williams read aloud in front of a packed audience at Oakdale Middle School, where the board holds its meetings.

“Having already not afforded me my constitutional rights throughout this process, and having restricted my speech and movement, the board places me on the agenda to once again infringe upon my rights without affording me due process. … I continue to request that these unconditional and impermissible restraints on me be removed.”

Williams’ second statement, to Pauck and Wright was written by attorney Charles Bolin. It reiterated much of Williams’ earlier sentiments, noting that the board had “instituted unprecedented and draconian measures violating Williams’ constitutional rights” despite the DA’s determination he had not committed a crime. Bolin’s letter also requested dismissal of the two complaints.

During board discussion of the complaints by Champion and staff — after Williams had left the meeting — members found that Williams violated three board policies: policy BBAA, which pertains to an individual board member’s authority; BBF, regarding conduct of board members; and KGB, pertaining to public conduct.

“I move that the board publicly censure Board Director Williams because his conduct did not meet the standards of professionalism and competence required and expected of a board member, has caused harm, impeded the work of the board and interfered with the work of district administrators and staff,” Wright said.

Board member Suzanne Messer seconded but noted she hoped, “starting in February, there’s seven of us at this table when we come to a meeting and that we all bring a unique voice and a unique perspective. This is about the impact of what’s happened, again, to our staff and culture. … it is not about the intent, this is the impact, and now we get to heal and move forward and become the board we’re supposed to be, looking at priorities for our students, for education, graduation on time, all the things we’re excited about.”

Board Vice Chair Kendall Ferguson said actions had already been taken with the prior complaint from Havniear. No new investigation is warranted because board members said Thursday they believe the October incident occurred.

“We clearly are having a behavioral issue. What can we do to make it stop impacting the staff … which ultimately falls down to the kids?” Ferguson asked, noting she agreed with statements by Messer that Williams is “a very valuable board member.”

“I’m not red hot to add any additional restrictions, mostly because we already knew about these complaints when we created the other restrictions. Since we’ve put those restrictions in place, to my knowledge there’ve been no further complaints, so I think that what we have done so far has served its purpose.”

Before the board discussed the two complaints, a standing-room only audience presented public testimony for a full hour. Before public speakers took to the microphone, Wright urged decorum.

“I’d like to give all of us an invitation tonight,” she said. “Could we just … not look at each other as us and them tonight, for one night? Could we just recognize that we are all here because we care about kids?”

The first five speakers were supporters of the newly launched Oregon Education Project, which creator Rob Schlapfer told the board seeks to “keep politics out of schools.” Schlapfer said the American education system in Oregon had been replaced with “woke education” and that K-12 schools were being transformed into “centers for social justice activism” designed to “decenter whiteness and dismantle liberal democracy.”

District parent Nathaniel Swan, who was escorted from December’s board meeting by police after a confrontation with the board, told board members, “Freedom of speech is what our country is built on. I cannot for the life of me understand how the board and Bret get off thinking they are above it.”

Swan took issue with the board’s “bullying and oppressive tactics,” and he called out Havniear, who he said had spoken publicly and “used the F word.” 

“People can praise staff, but I cannot criticize them,” Swan said. “I want to talk about how Mr. Havniear used this very platform to call a board member, ‘Bully No. 1.’”

Wright told Swan it was against board police for audience members to specifically name a staff member. Swan continued, despite Wright directing him to stop. At one point, she mistakenly referring to Swan as “Michael.” The verbal slip-up prompted a look of surprise from Champion and Williams. Board member Jeff Kinsella then directed district staff to “cut his mic.”

After a brief pause, Kinsella was heard by audience members uttering an expletive as Swan left the dais. Kinsella said, “Go **** yourself,” which can be found on the audio recording of the meeting.

Following Swan, a handful of additional audience members spoke. Medford City Council member Kevin Stine and Rogue Valley YMCA director Brad Russell spoke of partnerships with the school board and thanked board members for their volunteerism. Stine became emotional when he spoke of having taught students how to secure a classroom door during a lockdown.

A woman who identified herself as Maureen said she was concerned about “disturbing” online information pertaining to the Oregon Education Project.

“I know that religious freedoms were some of the reasons why we left Great Britain. If you need something from the public schools that you’re not getting, go to St. Mary’s, start your own school, go to homeschool,” she said.

“Look around this room and look at all the diversity that is here. … Some of us are scared. The language chosen — wokeness, Marxist, critical race theory — are all scare tactics to make people think that they’re going to be against their church if they disagree with their supremacist agenda, because they believe in their faith and do not fall into calling out and making their neighbors less than because they have other ways.”

She continued, “Stop fear mongering all the people here in this beautiful community. … Walk as Christ would and be together. All children are loved.”

Following public input, Wright announced 20 additional community members had provided written statements. A February work session is set for Feb. 6 with the next school board meeting scheduled for Feb. 20.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that Rob Schlapfer is the creator of the Oregon Education Project. Supporters who spoke during the Thursday meeting were previously identified as representatives.