Parent alerts Bucyrus board about racism incident, member named, appointments made

Oksana Kotkina, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum
·2 min read
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Bucyrus City School District held its organizational and first regular meeting of the new year on Thursday when appointments were made, an open board seat was filled and a parent addressed an issue of racism.

New board members Randy Blankenship, Christa Graves and Chad Redmon were sworn in. Blankenship was named board president and Graves, vice president.

Board Member Jenna Bollinger was appointed equal opportunities compliance officer. Blankenship was named legislative liaison for the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) Federal Relations Network.

Chad Redmon, left, Randy Blanenship and Christa Graves were sworn into office by Bucyrus City School District Treasurer Lisa Thoman-Cha.
Chad Redmon, left, Randy Blanenship and Christa Graves were sworn into office by Bucyrus City School District Treasurer Lisa Thoman-Cha.

Former board member appointed to open seat

Following the organizational meeting and an executive session, Morgan Jones, who previously served on the board, was named to fill a vacant seat.

Jones and Kristena Cazzell each expressed interest in being name to the board.

Blankenship made a motion to appoint Jones, which was approved.

Randy Blankenship, left, was sworn in to his board seat, as was Christa Graves.
Randy Blankenship, left, was sworn in to his board seat, as was Christa Graves.

The Bucyrus City School Board received a financial report from Treasurer Lisa Thoman-Cha, who noted nothing on the report was outstanding, and the district was doing well financially.

The district’s cash balance is about $19.4 million and outstanding investments are about $19.6 million.

Parent addresses racism incident at elementary school

In the public comment portion of the meeting, a parent, Rickie Bradley, asked to address racism in the the district, which he said his children experienced.

Bradley said his 10-year-old daughter, who is a student at Bucyrus Elementary School, was addressed by a racial slur, and he characterized the environment as a “toxic relationships.”

He thanked the Elementary School principal, Sheryl Hernandez, for doing athorough investigation and asked the board members give more attention awareness about racial and cultural diversity, and prevention of incidents because “not any kid born out of the womb racist.”

Rickie Bradley spoke to Bucyrus City School District board members about a racial incident he said occurred in school.
Rickie Bradley spoke to Bucyrus City School District board members about a racial incident he said occurred in school.

Bradley said one way to achieve a more conducive atmosphere in the elementary school could be field trips that would allow children to experience different cultures because “everybody likes Taco Tuesdays.”

Blankenship thanked Bradley for coming to the meeting and agreed with the idea of field trips, and said wrong is still wrong and right is still right.

“I want the love,” Bradley said.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bucyrus schools board makes appointments, discusses racism incident