By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A simmering dispute between two St. Joseph School Board members has become a legal matter.
A misdemeanor charge of harassment has been filed against school board member Whitney Lanning for her alleged outburst following a contentious school board meeting in which the board rejected a proposal to adopt a four-day school week.
Buchanan County Prosecutor Michelle Davidson filed the charge of a misdemeanor of harassment in the second degree against Lanning. The probable cause statement filed by the St. Joseph Police Department claims Lanning approached the victim as she was leaving the executive session on Monday, February 26th, and began screaming profanities in her face. Isaura Garcia has confirmed to KFEQ/St. Joseph Post she is the victim in the case. Someone, identified only as Witness 1, intervened, according to the probable cause statement, because he thought Lanning would physically assault Garcia. The statement alleges Lanning threatened another person.
"I can no longer sit idly by while a member of the Board of Education attacks, verbally abuses, and bullies other board members, District employees, and members of the public." Garcia said in a written statement delivered to the news media. "This behavior is unacceptable, and members of our school, our community, and our children deserve better."
Lanning declined to respond.
The closed-door executive session followed a tense St. Joseph School Board meeting on Monday, February 26th, at the Troester Media Center at 3401 Renick Street.
Lanning and Garcia openly disagreed on the merits of the four-day school week, both during the public portion of the St. Joseph School Board meeting on the 26th, as well as on the KFEQ Hotline earlier. Garcia and Lanning debated the merits of the four-day school week during their joint appearance on the Hotline with host Barry Birr, Wednesday, February 21st. The two disagreed on whether the St. Joseph School Board had given enough notice to the public about the pending vote to adopt a four-day school week with Garcia contending more public hearings on the matter were needed and Lanning countering that the school board had given the public plenty of notice.
The St. Joseph School Board rejected the proposal to adopt the four-day school week with three members voting for the proposal and four against. School Board President LaTonya Williams and member Rick Gehring join Lanning in support. Voting against were School Board Vice President Kenneth Reeder along with members David Foster, Kim Miller, and Garcia.
This article has been update since first published.
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