It was a bitter goodbye as Worcester County School Board Member Katie Addis announced her resignation this week. Delmarva Public Media's Don Rush has this look her announcement that shocked her colleagues.
RUSH: Worcester County School Board member Katie Addis called it quits. This is Don Rush.
ADDIS: Effective immediately, I will be resigning my position as District six school board representative and stepping down. Thank you.
RUSH: A statement that lasted just over seven minutes left the board in shock. Board member Jon Andes said he was surprised by the announcement, but praised Addis is a dedicated servant for those who eleced her. And while they had had at times disagreed, it had never been disagreeable. But as she read her statement, it was clear there was great bitterness. Tara Fischer covers the Board of Education for OC Today Dispatch.
FISCHER: To me, it seemed like she was very frustrated with the direction of the school system, and it's very obvious that she is a conservative, religious person. So I think people on the board were blindsided, it appeared to me.
RUSH: It had been a quiet meeting with members going through the budget, but in her statement, Addis took sharp aim at some of the expenditures.
ADDIS: We have a board and top administration who refused to take responsibility for the overspending being done. But just like Christmas, not everyone gets what they want on their wishlist. Maybe we need to start urging our Board of Education administration to stop building Taj Mahal schools that cost the taxpayers exorbitant amounts of money and start asking them to build modest buildings so our tax money can go to funding students in the classroom instead.
RUSH: And then there was a post by a teacher in the wake of the shooting death of conservative leader Charlie Kirk. It reportedly read, "Kirk supported Trump. Trump is a pedophile..." and then it went on to say both deserve the same. For the record, there is no indication from the Epstein files that Trump participated in any such activity. But for some, this had implications for students who supported Kirk. As for Addis, she said the teacher got a slap on the wrist.
ANDES: We have a teacher who implied he wanted students dead and instead of firing him, our superintendent rewarded him with a paid vacation, I mean administrative leave.
RUSH: When asked about the issue at the time, Worcester County declined to comment, given that it was a personnel matter. There was also a shot at the local Education Association indicating that it did not have the welfare of students or teachers at heart. And she dismissed the association's red apple endorsement of candidates. The media also came in for a harsh criticism. She declared that it was part of an "old boys" network suggesting it was in league with the powers that be.
ADDIS: In next year's election, stay vigilant and question what the media newspapers are putting out to the public. Worcester County journalism is very much a part of the "good old boy" network. Question who the news outlets and newspapers are praising and discern the truth and do not be swayed.
RUSH: When she ran some three years ago, Addis was seen as a social conservative and that was certainly reflected toward the end of her statement to the council.
ADDIS: The board of education has been my mission field. I found a place where I was not welcome in many ways, and certainly not celebrated as I spread the word of God and his truths. I continue to stand behind those truths and I pray our community will find its voice to stand behind those truths as well for the safety, security, and the prosperity of this generation of children and the next generation to come.
RUSH: So what does this mean for the future of the board? Again, reporter, Tara Fischer.
FISCHER: I believe it came down to conservative values and she was the only one on the board that was very outspoken. I think about that, the direction that she would like to see it taken. And again, about funding and about that the school systems are being overfunded and she wants that to come back to the classroom and talking about taxpayers, what this means for the future of the board. I think, like you said, she was kind of a sole, this person leading the charge.
RUSH: We'll have a longer look at the story of this Friday's Delmarva Today at Noon on WSDL and WESM, this is Don Rush for Delmarva Public Media.
