By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph School Board President LaTonya Williams defends the board’s decision to retain Superintendent Gabe Edgar in wake of his arrest for drunk driving.
“Our choice in retaining Gabe, it was not about Gabe, it was about the district,” Williams tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr.
The school board decided to retain Edgar after the superintendent was pulled over the evening of March 26th and eventually charged with misdemeanor driving-while-intoxicated.
Williams says no one should consider the decision to keep Edgar as superintendent to be a condoning of his action.
“We were disappointed in his action as he was,” Williams says. “But it is not only about the action, it is about the whole picture as well.”
The St. Joseph School Board met in executive decision a few times after the after. No vote was taken on retaining Edgar, who’s contract runs through 2026.
School board Vice President Kenneth Reeder criticizes Birr for bringing up the issue during their appearance on the KFEQ Hotline Friday.
“And I’m really disappointed that we’re talking about this,” Reeder says. “The personnel issue is something that locks us in legally and we are not going to put ourselves in jeopardy for that.”
Reeder asserts Edgar has been punished enough.
“He’s gone through a great amount of punishment and, guess what, Gabriel is going to have punishment for the rest of the time of his career in this town,” Reeder says. “I only hope we can keep him for the next five years at least, so we can totally turn this ship and we’re going down that right path. And, by the way, it does not involve new, shiny buildings. It involves educating our kids.”
While Reeder asserts school board members shouldn’t discuss their decision to retain Edgar, Williams does address it, insisting the decision to keep Edgar was based on the best interest of the district.
“Gabe is just like everybody else. He’s a man, he’s human and we all make choices and, at times, it’s not the best choice.”