Geneva school board meeting ends on confusing note

Feb. 23—GENEVA — The Geneva Area City Schools Board of Education meeting ended with a strange sequence on Wednesday night.

At the end of the meeting's regular agenda, the board entered a closed-door executive session, and Board President Marti Milliken Dixon said the board would be taking action after the executive session.

However, when the board returned, Milliken Dixon said the members of the board who wanted to take action did not have enough votes to amend the meeting agenda.

Milliken Dixon and board members Michele Krieg and Brock Pierson voted to amend the agenda, and board members Jamie Ortiz and Roger Wilt voted against it. The vote required four "yes" votes to pass.

Earlier in the meeting, Milliken Dixon spoke about why the board goes into executive sessions.

The Board of Education goes into executive session frequently, including after every meeting. The board has had a number of additional executive sessions in recent weeks due to the search for a new fiscal officer for the district.

Milliken Dixon said the board is as specific as they can be when announcing the reason for going into executive sessions.

In other business:

—Representatives from the district's various booster groups spoke at the meeting.

Jeff Griffiths, a member of the district's Academic Boosters, said the group recently provided funding for science classes to purchase eclipse glasses.

The group will conduct end-of-year awards soon, and will honor a teacher of the year for the second year in the row.

Griffiths said the group is considering issuing letters to students for academic excellence, and asked the board to eliminate a rule that restricted what style of jackets students with letters can purchase.

He said the Geneva schools are the only district with such a rule.

AJ Rosales, with the Geneva Athletic Boosters, said the group's large projects over the last year was purchases of new uniforms, along with letters and awards for students.

The boosters host fundraisers and sell items at the concession stand at the high school, he said.

"We've had some pretty decent fundraisers, but just know that all of our fundraisers are volunteer-based," Rosales said.

—A design for new signs welcoming people to the district has been selected.

Superintendent Terri Hrina-Treharn said a grant from Pilot/Flying J paid for the new signs.

—The board approved a trip for the Geneva High School Band during spring break in 2025.

Hrina-Treharn said the band will participate in a parade at Disney World, among other things.

—During the public comment section, Leslie Frazier raised issues about how parents were informed about an investigation into one of the district's coaches.

Last week, the district sent out a robo-call followed by a press release regarding a police investigation into a district coach.

She said her mind immediately went to a worst-case scenario.

"I was wondering if my child was safe, if her friends were safe, if the individual that was under investigation was removed and was not having any further contact with children at this point," Frazier said.

"I didn't receive any of that information in what was given. As a parent, I didn't need the specifics, at that moment, about what was going on. I needed to know my child was safe, and that there were capable individuals handling the incident appropriately."

She said her child has come home with rumors about what is happening.

"These rumors are disturbing to her, and also make her sad, as some of them have been about her own coaches," Frazier said.

She suggested that administrators meet with students and explain the general situation to them.

"So now they're left to their own devices, they don't know what's going on, rumors are going around," Frazier said.

Rumors can hurt reputations, people's employment and their families, whether the subject of the rumor is innocent or guilty, she said.

Former board member Richard Arndt said he was present at the meeting on behalf of people who were afraid of attacks made by board members on social media.

"There are various community members and many parents who support the continued and tireless efforts demonstrated by Dr. Treharn in holding employees of the district accountable in their duties to educate all students," Arndt said.

He commended Hrina-Treharn for the book vending machines at the district, the Soaring Eagles program, and her oversight of the district's busing.

"In closing, please know there are many in our community who support our current superintendent and all her efforts in making the Geneva school district a better place for our students and our community," Arndt said.

—The board had a discussion regarding a potential athletic facility for the district.

Milliken Dixon said Krieg and Wilt will lead a committee seeking to build a new athletic facility for the district, to allow them to have their own facilities and no longer use SPIRE Academy's facilities.

Krieg said prices have gone up since the last time the idea was proposed.

"To be honest, they don't want us there, and we don't want to be there," she said.

She said the district may have to work in phases, but they want district athletes to have a home, and SPIRE is not a home.

Krieg encouraged people to reach out to her.

"I truly want all entities involved," she said. "This is not just a football stadium."

Wilt said previously, the district did not have a choice, it was either utilize SPIRE or not play.

Krieg said the project will involve difficult conversations.

—There have been requests that the board livestream meetings, Milliken Dixon said.

She said the board is discussing that possibility.

Pierson said he believes it's a great idea. He suggested finding a way to filter out comments from people seeking to maliciously interfere with the meeting.

Krieg said retirees and other stakeholders who are not able to physically make it to the meeting still have the right to participate.