MCSD board tables vote on independent counsel amid Myers controversy

His request to postpone the agenda item wasn’t granted, but the Muscogee County School Board’s vote on a controversial matter during Monday night’s called meeting produced the same result District 8 representative Frank Myers had sought.

The board unanimously voted 8-0 to table until the July 11 work session the item board chairwoman Pat Hugley Green of District 1 had placed on the agenda: “Board consideration of hiring independent counsel for potential accreditation matters related to board conduct.”

Myers already had informed Green that he would miss the called meeting, originally scheduled to approve the fiscal year 2018 budget. Friday afternoon, Green emailed the board notice of the additional agenda item. She linked the matter to “ensuring MCSD remains accredited when Advance Ed visits in October 2017,” and Myers asked her to reschedule the agenda item.

In another exchange of emails Sunday night, Green suggested Myers could participate in the called meeting via phone, as other board members have done. In his reply, Myers said “my travel arrangements will not allow me to do so.”

The issue arose Wednesday, when Myers emailed the attorneys representing Montravious Thomas and his mother, who sued the Muscogee County School District and other defendants for $25 million. The lawsuit alleges contracted behavioral specialist Bryant Mosley body-slammed Montravious, then 13, “no less than” five times while trying to discipline him Sept. 12 in the Edgewood Student Services Center. The lawsuit also alleges the injuries Montravious suffered during the confrontation resulted in his right leg being amputated below the knee Oct. 18.

In that email, Myers wrote, “I have what I believe is very relevant information regarding that case. I believe the evidence I possess would be very important to the goal of seeing that justice is served upon everyone involved in this matter.”

Myers asked Montravious’ attorneys to “put me under subpoena and take my deposition regarding these issues in the very near future.”

Myers added, “I am also authorized to share with you that John Thomas would not object to being placed under subpoena for the same purpose.”

Thursday, the same day the board had its annual training about proper conduct for a governing body, board attorney Greg Ellington of the law firm Hall Booth Smith PC forwarded to board members Myers’ email.

Phil Hartley, with the law firm Harben, Hartley & Hawkins LLP of Gainesville, Ga., is serving as co-counsel in this case. Ellington wrote that he and Hartley “will take appropriate steps to preserve privileged information concerning the Thomas matter, as that privilege belongs to the Board and District as a whole and cannot be waived by any individual board member.

“It is for the Board to consider what, if any, additional action to take in response to Mr. Myers’ conduct.”

During the called meeting Monday evening, Green paraphrased the statement she had emailed board members.

“The urgency is that the national standards and process of reviewing schools for accreditation is very real,” Green wrote. “The MCSD Advance Ed review is early October 2017 and it is our obligation as the governing body that we ensure our students graduate from an accredited school system. What is keenly important is that the diplomas our students earn and the careers our employees work and retire are from an accredited school system.”

Green said that, after conferring with Ellington and the Georgia School Boards Association, allegations Myers made against Ellington mean that “independent counsel would better serve us and offer guidance free of any allegations as we approach accreditation review.”

Green added, “Several employees and community members are disheartened by such board member conduct. We are unaware if there is any information that is relevant to any litigation or if this information even exists.”

In an email to board members Myers claims he and Thomas have “much damning information, including what I consider to be unethical and likely illegal conduct of lawyers representing this board in the aftermath of Montravious’ injury. Mr. Ellington very much wants to keep a lid on this information, for obvious reasons.”

Thomas said during Monday evening’s called meeting that he and Myers “were presented with information that I felt, being true to my own principles, I had to take to someone, and it’s just a question of personal integrity and telling the truth, and that’s why I decided to do it. If Advanced Ed is going to look askance at someone telling the truth about something, then, yeah, there will be an accreditation problem, but I really don’t think that’s going to be the case. I’ve never heard anybody in trouble for telling the truth.”

Thomas continued, “I met with the GBI in December. I gave them a statement. They asked me not to discuss it further with anyone, and I haven’t done that, and I have not been released from that. So I’ll leave it at that. I’ll just say that I wouldn’t do anything to endanger accreditation, and I don’t think this action would.”

Mark Cantrell of District 6 was the first board member to recommend tabling the decision. He said the board needs more time to consider it. Vanessa Jackson of District 3 and county-wide representative Kia Chambers concurred.

Chambers, the board’s vice chairwoman, asked for Green to bring back more details about what the independent counsel’s responsibilities would be and the estimated cost of such legal services.

Cathy Williams of District 7 agreed to change her motion from approving to tabling the issue, and nobody objected.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 8:55 PM with the headline "MCSD board tables vote on independent counsel amid Myers controversy."