Applications due May 22 for board vacancy to be filled prior to start of next term; officials say board policy is being followed

The recent resignation of Medford School Board member Michelle Atkinson prompted a lively discussion during a forum held Monday for candidates running for three available board seats in the May 20 special election.

Candidates who were asked questions during the forum said they felt the timing of Atkinson’s resignation was intentional, even “scripted,” while district officials said district policy guided the board’s handling of the vacancy.

Atkinson, a Medford native elected to position 5 in 2023, submitted her resignation May 5, effective June 1. She resigned her position, which expires June 30, 2027, due to an impending out-of-state move.

Atkinson’s announcement leaves just three other incumbents — Kendell Ferguson, Lilia Caballero and Michael Williams — who will remain on the board at the end of the current school year.

Of three available seats in the upcoming special election — those held by board members Cynthia Wright, Jeff Kinsella and Suzanne Messer — only Wright is seeking reelection.

Board members during a work session last Thursday reviewed district policy for addressing the vacancy and decided to accept applications through May 22 and make an appointment during a June 5 board work session.

Williams voiced concerns during the Thursday work session and proposed amended district policy to provide more clarity in dealing with vacancies. Williams said incoming board members should help fill the vacant seat.

During the candidate forum Monday, hosted by the Medford chapter of the Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA), chapter vice president Sarah Reames read submitted questions, which ranged from candidate thoughts on the role of district administrators and board members to whether they would close a school due to declining district enrollment.

Asked what they thought of the board decision on how the vacancy would be handled “so close to the upcoming election,” most candidates said they disapproved.

The submitted question stated that community members felt “moving forward with this process disregards the will of the voters and undermines trust in the election itself.” 

Wright, who abstained from voting on the vacancy during the work session last week, said the decision was guided by policy and that having all seven board positions filled is necessary for conducting district business.

“As we’re making important decisions, it is important to have every seat filled and, right now, the people that are on board who would be making that decision are the people who have been elected at this time,” she said at the forum.

“Allowing those people to have that decision, I think, is accurate because it’s based on the responsibilities they’ve been given, that they were elected to fulfill.”

Erik Johnsen, running for Wright’s seat in the election, said at the forum he felt that “timing of the resignation was not coincidental.”

“It seems like it was delayed and designed to allow people who lose the election a chance to get a second chance at getting on the board, and it doesn’t feel good from a democratic standpoint,” he said.

“Personally, if I lose, I don’t have any intention of applying for that position. I’ll accept the will of the voters, and I would encourage everybody on this panel to do the same.”

Johnsen said he agreed with Williams that board members elected May 20 should take part in helping to appoint the seat.

Taryne Saunders, running against Wright and Johnsen for position 3, said she had been “watching the way this board does things for three-and-a-half years” and was “disappointed but definitely not surprised” by the board decision.

“I don’t believe in coincidences. I think this was exactly planned the way it was supposed to be planned … for the (existing) board to get things the way they wanted things to go,” Saunders said at the forum.

“I think it’s tragic that the board disregards the public’s vote so greatly that they would try to do this without the public even noticing.”

Saunders said there was “absolutely no reason they can’t wait a few weeks and have this be done in a public session where there’s public comment,” and she encouraged fellow candidates not to apply for the vacancy because “the public should be voting for these positions, not being appointed by the corrupt people who are sitting on our board currently, minus Michael Williams.”

Candidate Sandra LaNier McHenry, running for position 2, said she understood the board decision but also candidate and community concerns.

“It seems to me there are a lot of policy issues that the board falls back on,” she said.

“And I think folks would like to see things done differently.”

Candidate Logan Leverette Vaughn charged at the forum that the board’s handling of the vacancy was an example of “corruption” in the district, telling audience members, “If you vote for the same old, you’re gonna get the same old.”

Candidates Cheyla Breedlove and Angela Zbikowski both said they would not seek the vacant seat if they are not elected May 20. Breedlove said she attended the board work session and watched “how this unfolded, in real time” and felt that the board missed “an opportunity to say, ‘We could do things a little differently here.’”

“What I can say is it felt manufactured,” she added.

“The timing was … strange … and I think, given anybody in that moment, again not knowing the backstory to some of the decisions, it did not seem quite right.”

Zbikowski urged “whoever is elected” to strive for “more clarity” and “fewer reasons for the public to distrust” the district.

“People are looking for things to distrust and then this happens and it’s … it’s not great timing,” she said.

Contacted Wednesday by the Rogue Valley Times, Atkinson reiterated that the timing of her resignation was what “worked best for my family, lets me attend graduation, and supports a smooth transition for the board.” 

Wright told the Times on Wednesday she would not apply for the vacancy if her bid for reelection is unsuccessful. 

Williams, who attended the Monday forum, said Thursday that he would vote against any appointment made before July 1.

“This is an unnecessarily accelerated time line,” he said in a message to the Times.

“It is not fair to the applicants or the public that this decision is not being given the care and consideration it deserves. If it comes to a vote before the new board is seated, I will vote no.“

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.