Norman Public Schools board members Alex Ruggiers and Annette Price held a Norman Education Town Hall on Saturday where they answered anonymous questions and addressed division on the school board, AI and district issues.
About 25 community members attended the event, and no other board members were present.
Division among board members
Price walked out of last month’s board meeting following disagreement over the selection of a new board president and vice president. The board’s split over elections mirrored disagreement over Superintendent Nick Migliorino’s new contract, which was approved in a 3-2 vote in February. Ruggiers and Price voted against it.
One attendee asked about leadership elections at last month’s meeting, where Dawn Brockman was elected president and Dirk O’Hara, previously president, was elected vice president. Board tradition has offices passed down chronologically, which would have made Ruggiers president and Price vice president.
Ruggiers said he was surprised he wasn’t nominated because the chronological system is intended to give each district a turn with its representative in leadership.
“We had some board members that, because of their personal disagreements with us, decided that they were going to upend this multi-year, more than a decade-long, tradition, and to name themselves president and vice president instead,” Ruggiers said.
Ruggiers said he was told he and Price were not elected because of their vote against Migliorino’s contract and “mean” tone. He said he did not join the board with the intention of being president, and will continue to work with the other board members despite his personal feelings.
Price said she didn’t think such “surprise attacks” would happen on the board, and she doesn’t want “nasty politics.” She said anything the board does that doesn’t serve students is a waste of time.
“This is why I'm in this place right now, is to stand up for our kids,” Price said. “I'm in this place to listen to you.”
One attendee asked Price why, if her goal is to represent students, she left the meeting.
Price said it was a personal decision to leave, because she didn’t want to be a part of what happened. She said she didn’t want to further disrupt the meeting, and she checked the agenda after leaving and knew she wouldn’t be needed.
An attendee asked why Migliorino has a three year contract while teachers only have one year contracts. Ruggiers said Migliorino began on a one year contract, but he is now on a three year contract to provide job security. Ruggiers dislikes how his three year contract is renewed yearly.
“I don't know if we just have to keep doing it because everybody does it that way,” Ruggiers said.
Price said this isn’t a personal issue, it’s about job performance in a high-level role and the board doesn’t take it lightly.
“Some of us are going to disagree, and … some are going to agree,” Price said. “And that's what our democracy is,”
Values, current issues
When asked about how LGBTQ+ students are treated, Ruggiers said he is a queer person and he had “interesting” experiences with how he and his students were treated when he taught in the district. Since being on the board, Ruggiers said he pushed for single occupancy bathrooms in the current school bond.
“Title IX protects LGBTQ students from discrimination and staff and so, I think we are slowly but surely making progress on this issue,” Ruggiers said.
Responding to a question about how students who are immigrants are treated, Price said Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a man near a Norman elementary school and she was concerned that he was arrested while dropping his daughter off at school. The district released a statement soon after the arrest that ICE was not on school grounds.
“I don't know that's the best message for these families who feel like they're being hunted,” Price said.
Price said the board hopes to assemble a Latino community board to discuss future concerns.
An attendee asked how the district is handling mental health issues. Ruggiers said he and Price are urging increased investment in counseling staff and he wants Norman to be the district where school counselors want to work.
Ruggiers said student behavior has worsened in recent years, especially since the pandemic, which affects both student and teacher mental health.
Price said the National Counseling Association recommends one counselor per 250 students. Oklahoma law requires a ratio of one counselor per 450 students, and Price said Norman has a ratio of about 1-to-385. According to the National Counseling Association’s website, the national average last year was 1-to-372.
One attendee said the district has a reputation of being a progressive school system and asked how the board can continue to enact more progressive policies.
Ruggiers said it’s important to pay attention to school board elections. He said four out of five school board members are progressive, which has led to progress on policies about ICE and free school meals.
“We are taking more progressive stances since the board has become more progressive, and it's been truly, honestly demanding that of our superintendent of our district,” Ruggiers said. “You can't sleep on school board elections.”
AI, technology
Ruggiers said district leaders are in favor of using AI to teach students how to use relevant technology and be effective digital citizens. He said he’s advocated for limiting screen time throughout the day and he thinks it will be a topic of discussion at the strategic plan meeting in June.
“I see administrators definitely in favor of using it in a way that teaches kids how to use it,” Ruggiers said. “But I've also heard from a lot of teachers that it's just getting in the way of learning.”
Price asked the audience whether teachers enjoyed using AI in the classroom, and attendees said no. With all technology, she said policy makers must listen to teacher feedback.
Ruggiers said he is in favor of the cellphone ban and he thinks other board members are too. He said student, parents and teacher reactions have been positive.
Price said she disagrees with Ruggiers, because cellphones help parents communicate with their kids, but she said she has also heard good things about the ban.
ExpandED
One attendee asked about ExpandED, a virtual education program, and how the district can “reign in” the program. The attendee claimed many students cheat and still get credit, and while enrollment at Norman North and Norman High Schools are declining, the online program is growing.
Ruggiers said he agrees that ExpandED gives students a “fly through experience,” and that by promoting it, the state hurts local schools.
“We are in a state that loves hurting local schools,” Ruggiers said.
Another attendee said classroom teachers should not pit themselves against ExpandEd teachers, because they are also Norman educators. The attendee said this is a leadership issue, and it villainizes ExpandEd. Ruggiers said he’d like to talk more about it.
Having conversations in the state, district
Ruggiers said the current legislative session is one of the “worst anti-public education” sessions he’s seen. He said he is concerned about House Bill 3151, which would add seven instructional days to the year.
According to Ruggiers, Migliorino said it costs $700,000 a day to run the district, and the bill doesn’t provide any more funding. In a meeting with Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields, Ruggiers said Migliorino urged Fields to oppose it, but he did not.
“They love to give us these unfunded mandates so we don't have the money to do (them),” Ruggiers said.
Price said the district advertises its accomplishments, but there needs to be more conversation about its weaknesses so those issues can be supported and remedied. She said she encourages submissions to her online suggestion box.
“Tell me, so I can advocate for your kids,” Price said.
Ruggiers said the board needs more public meetings like Saturday’s town hall to increase dialogue between board members and constituents, and he encouraged attendees to come to Monday’s board meeting. Both Ruggiers and Price encouraged community members to email their board members.
This story was edited by Natalie Armour.
