Schools

Cherokee Board Members, Staff Rebuke Marlow's Claims

Board Chair Janet Read, other board members and school district staff members are offering counterpoints to Kelly Marlow's claims.

Along with Cherokee Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo, fellow school board and school district staff members are also offering their responses to claims made by fellow District 1 Board Member Kelly Marlow in her complaint to AdvancED

Board chair Janet Read and members Patsy Jordan, Rick Steiner and Robert Wofford have also chimed in after AdvancED asked Petruzielo to submit a formal, written response to Marlow's allegations. 

Board members Michael Geist and Rob Usher did not offer a response. Marlow in an email on Aug. 9 said she plans to send her own response directly to AdvancED. 

Read, who was elected board chair after serving two terms as a school board member, said she's regularly tried to reach out and offer assistance to Marlow as she transitions onto the board. Read noted Marlow's attitude has always been one of "appreciation for my leadership and willingness to learn." 

"With her letter to AdvancED written within 24 hours of our last (school board) meeting, it would appear that there was never a true desire to learn more about the workings of an effective school board," she added. 

Read noted she ran for school board to make a great school system even better, and noted she believed the board has done so as a whole. However, she hopes one board member "with a personal agenda and vendetta against the superintendent would not be allowed to sabotage our efforts."

Both Wofford and Jordan also defended the superintendent. Wofford said he's never been treated with disrespect by Petruzielo and has not observed any "inappropriate conduct" by district staff members. 

Jordan, who noted she's a graduate of the school system and has also served as a teacher, added she also hasn't observed any problems in terms of governance or leadership. 

Steiner added it's "comical and ludicrous" for Marlow to even accuse Read for having an inappropriate relationship with district staff members. 

Perhaps the most extensive response belongs to Barbara Jacoby, the district's director of public information, communications and partnerships. 

Along with written responses, Jacoby provided emails she sent to Marlow responding to the board member's questions, articles from local media outlets and newsletters to back up her counterpoints.

Jacoby reiterates that she's never violated the state's Georgia Open Records Act, only has a professional relationship with Read that dates back to her serving as managing editor with the Cherokee Tribune, that she did not interfere with the hiring process at the Tribune and she had no role in the removal of a letter to the editor that contained misinformation about her from the Tribune's website. 

Mike McGowan, the district's supervisor of strategic planning, also clarified a statement he made during a training session with Georgia Schools Board Association's Zenda Bowie. 

McGowan noted a quote, "You don't want to be a school district that is under a SACS investigation," should be attributed to him. McGowan said he was asked by Petruzielo to share his experiences during the December 2012 training session. 

McGowan noted the probation was a "major hurdle" to overcome. McGowan was with the district when it was placed on probation by SACS in 1999. 

"During that probation period, it was a daily struggle to explain to constituents/taxpayers that the school district was placed on probation, not because of anything to do with the educational performance, but because of a school board member's actions," he added. 


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