Petition calls for Frank Myers to resign after accusations of sexual harassment, bullying

A former Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce executive has accused a Muscogee County School Board member of sexual harassment and bullying and has called for him to resign after a disagreement on Facebook caused a deluge of reaction.

Frank Myers of District 8 is the accused board member. He apologized on Facebook as well as in a phone interview with the Ledger-Enquirer but said he won’t resign.

Maggie Reese, who was the chamber’s community development and growth director before becoming director of buzz at Yalla Public Relations in January, announced on her Facebook page Thursday that she is “actively pursuing time on the next school board meeting agenda to discuss this face to face with Frank. Ultimately, I believe he should step down from his seat early and allow the empty seat to be a reflection of the zero tolerance for sexual harassment and bullying in the Muscogee County School District.”

Board secretary Karen Jones confirmed to the Ledger-Enquirer that Reese requested to be on the public agenda for the board’s next meeting, which will be Aug. 20, starting at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, Reese started a petition on Change.org “to implore” the board “to call an immediate vote on a resolution of censure and ask that he step down for a violation of their Code of Ethics.” There were more than 430 signatures by 6:40 p.m.

The sexual harassment and bullying accusations come from what Myers posted about Reese after she had defended chamber executive Amy Bryan in a Facebook post. Bryan is a candidate in the July 24 runoff election against retired U.S. Army Col. John House for the vacant citywide seat on Columbus Council.

Myers took from Reese’s Facebook page a photo of her in a bikini. He cropped the photo to show only her backside and posted it at 11:37 p.m. Wednesday with a comment that says, “You need to lose 30.”

Reese told the Ledger-Enquirer in a phone interview late Thursday afternoon that while she is outraged by Myers’ words and actions, she also is grateful that he chose to pick on her.

“I’ve seen Frank on social media before, and I know people personally that he’s verbally attacked, the vile and horrible things he’s posted,” Reese said. “This is the one time he went a step too far. Sometimes actions have consequences, and this is going to be his.”

Reese also is grateful and “overwhelmed” by the support she has received, she said. Less than eight hours after she posted her call for Myers to resign, her Facebook post received more than 200 shares, 140 comments and more than 300 likes. She started the hashtag #StepDownFrank.

Later on Thursday afternoon the Ledger-Enquirer received a news release summarizing Reese’s accusations.

“I’m happy it happened to me because having dealt with body issues my entire life I know how hurtful words can be,” Reese said in the news release. “However, I’m blown away by the outpouring support of my community and want to use this as opportunity to take a stand for those can’t do it for themselves. I hope the MCSD School Board will take this as an opportunity to call for a vote on a resolution of censure and leave the seat vacant as a reflection of the zero tolerance of sexual harassment and bullying our community embodies.”

Myers wrote on Facebook at 11:48 a.m. Thursday, “I owe Maggie Reese an apology for posting this photo from her own page and referencing her weight during our exchange last night. That was out of bounds, and I am sorry.”

In his phone interview Thursday evening with the Ledger-Enquirer, Myers said, “If I have violated the code of ethics, I’m going to man up on that. But understand my main purpose right now is to make sure that Maggie Reese has gotten my apology.”

Myers added, “If all this attention will lead to a serious discussion about what needs to happen to make a difference in the lives of young people, then it’s worthwhile, I think. I hope something positive will come out of this because what I did was wrong, and I have apologized and there’s nothing else I can do.”

Reese told the Ledger-Enquirer in a subsequent phone interview that she indeed saw Myers’ apology “15 minutes ago, after he unblocked me on Facebook.”

“I appreciate him regretting his words,” she said. “However, he crossed the line and he set a poor example for the students he’s supposed to be representing in the school district. I think it is still appropriate for him to step down.”

Asked what part of the board’s code she thinks Myers violated, Reese cited, “’Take no private action that will compromise the board or school system administration.’”

The Ledger-Enquirer asked the board’s nine members for their reaction to Reese’s accusations, whether Myers bullied and sexually harassed her, whether he violated the board’s code of ethics, whether the board should censure him and whether he should resign.

District 7 representative Cathy Williams said yes to all of those questions. No other board member replied to the Ledger-Enquirer’s query before deadline.

Commenting on Reese’s Facebook page, District 1 representative Pat Hugley Green wrote, “Ma’am, it is important for me to express to you that body shaming or any name calling is without question unacceptable behavior! The behavioral expectation for adults and professionals should be reflected in our words and actions. This individual’s malice is in no way representative of the entire MCSD Board of Education or our school district employees.”

Other notable comments posted on Reese’s Facebook page:

▪ Mayor Teresa Tomlinson: “Maggie — You are an awesome, bold, bright, beautiful woman. We could not be more proud of you or more proud of all you do for Columbus, GA.”

▪ House: “I agree that this posting is inappropriate. As the father of four daughters, I do not appreciate the posting and am disappointed to see anyone do this.”

▪ Williams: “I. Am. So. Proud. Of. You!! I kinda fell in love with you last night. I have been accused of being ballsy, but you showed me what that proud badge actually look like. You will have to now hold, passed from all the women who have run for office, the mantle of “SHERO”!!!!”

Myers has been the board’s most outspoken critic of superintendent David Lewis and his administration. He failed to win a second four-year term when former board chairman Philip Schley beat him with 65 percent of the vote in the May 24 election. Schley will replace Myers on Jan. 1.

In a phone interview with the Ledger-Enquirer on election night, Schley said, “I’m delighted that we’re rid of his negativity, and now we can proceed with some positivity.”

Schley said Myers has been “a bully with terrible manners and terrible ideas.”

The key to winning the race, Schley said, was that “voters recognized Frank Myers has been destructive to public education in Columbus, Georgia, and they voted for somebody who would bring back comity between the school board and the superintendent.”

Asked whether he will resign, Myers said, “There’s not a chance I’m going to resign. Look, there’s still a chance in the next six months that we may break through and wake up some people and actually change things.”

Asked what changes he seeks, Myers said, “Half our schools get a D or F from the state. We just went up $20 million on our budget from last year, and teachers can’t even get school supplies paid for. A majority of third-graders cannot read on grade level, meaning right now they’re going to end up and be on public assistance or in prison. … We have the second- or third-highest millage rate in the state. The school system is stuck in just outside the bottom third in the entire state of Georgia. There’s no discussion being made of all these important issues.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2018 at 6:48 PM.