Tensions regarding the February contract renewal of Norman Public Schools Superintendent Nick Migliorino continued during a special meeting Monday evening.
In the more than three-hour-long meeting, NPS Board of Education members held a discussion regarding “board alignment, functioning, and collaboration,” the agenda states. They also entered an executive session to discuss the evaluation and employment of Migliorino.
Board discussion
The news: Members discussed the behavior and alignment of the board since April’s meeting, where tensions rose over president and vice president elections.
Board members struggled to find a middle ground, citing a lack of apologies and raising questions about leadership expectations.
According to the board, a mediator was supposed to be present for the conversation. Instead, Haley Drusen, NPS general counsel, intervened twice during the meeting to mediate.
Office 3 member Annette Price walked out of the April meeting after Office 4 member Dawn Brockman was elected as president and Office 1 member Dirk O’Hara, last term’s president, was elected vice president. Board member positions typically rotate chronologically through the five offices, which would have made Office 2 member Alex Ruggiers president and Price vice president.
Members previously said reactions to the election boiled down to disagreements over Migliorino’s contract.
NPS Board of Education member walks out of meeting following president, vice president election
What they’re saying: Brockman and O’Hara both said they felt Ruggiers and Price were not suited to serve as president and vice president.
“We didn’t feel like you were going to be the best choice for those tasks, and therefore we went with the decision we did,” Brockman said. “It’s not personal, but it’s something that we felt we had to do.”
Ruggiers said he takes his job seriously and that breaking tradition during elections lowered the standard of board leadership.
“I try to make sure (my constituents) have the representation that they’re deserved and that they’re owed …,” Ruggiers said. “Throwing away that value, that tradition, was something that really lowered the bar for performance of this board and lowered the standard of democratic representation of this board.”
According to Ruggiers, he and Brockman met for coffee two days after the meeting, during which she apologized. Ruggiers said O’Hara had not apologized.
O’Hara then apologized to Ruggiers and Price, but only for how the vote impacted the members.
“I will apologize for how I made you both feel, but I’m unable to apologize for my vote. It was the proper vote.”
Brockman offered to have a private conversation with Price, but Price said Brockman can be “aggressive” during conversations and that she is available by email if Brockman wanted to discuss the matter privately.
Following the meeting, Price said the conversation “reinvigorated” her to work for the kids.
“There’s going to be differences in the board, that doesn’t affect what happens for kids, and sometimes personalities clash,” Price said. “And that's not going to deter me from doing what I need to do to make sure that every kid feels safe. … That’s my main focus.”
Evaluating superintendent employment
The news: The board entered executive session to discuss the evaluation and employment of Migliorino.
Migliorino’s contract was renewed through 2029 in a 3-2 vote in February, with Price and Ruggiers voting against the contract for the second year in a row.
When asked if Ruggiers would vote to terminate Migliorino if given the chance, Ruggiers declined to answer so as to not reveal what was discussed in the executive session. However, Ruggiers said both during the meeting and after that he has never wanted to terminate Migliorino.
“I’ve never made a motion to terminate the superintendent. I’ve never asked to have it put on the agenda. (O’Hara) is upset that the last two years I’ve objected to the process of renewing (Migliorino’s) contract every year …,” Ruggiers said. “I think he equates voting no on renewing it another three years out as the same as trying to fire the superintendent, but I’ve tried to explain many times there is a difference.”
Migliorino is the highest paid superintendent in the state, with a total compensation of $412,524 in the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to state data. OU Daily previously requested an estimate of Migliorino’s total compensation for this fiscal year, but Jaron Spor, NPS communications coordinator, declined to provide a number, writing that everything needed to calculate it is in the contract.
What they’re saying: Prior to the meeting, the Daily asked Courtney Scott, NPS chief communications officer, if she could share any information about the focus of the executive session, but Scott declined, saying she didn’t know what would be discussed.
In the discussion that followed the executive session, O’Hara addressed Ruggiers and Price in regard to the split vote over Migliorino’s contract.
“You and Ms. Price and some of your constituents have had a hidden agenda to get rid of (Migliorino) for a very long time …,” O’Hara said. “To want to terminate the superintendent and start all over is not in the best interest of kids, and certainly not the best interest of teachers.”
This story was edited by Audrey McClour.
