Decatur Public Schools District 61 Board Member Dr. Kevin Collins-Brown emailed Board President Bill Clevenger and Superintendent Dr. Rochelle Clark, accusing Clevenger of bullying and intimidation, on October 24th, 2023.
Clevenger has not responded to my November 3rd request for comment.
According to Collins-Brown's email, Clevenger called him on Wednesday October 18th "telling me to vote no if the DEA proposal of a TA in the third grade at Parsons came to a vote."
Collins-Brown wrote that Clevenger "told me it is imperative I always support Dr. Clark in all decisions and by siding with DEA [Decatur Education Association] I am undermining her."
He adds "I find this unethical and bordering on intimidation."
Collins-Brown continues, "previous board members were perceived to be bullies" and "Your actions are becoming more and more like that, in my opinion".
Collins-Brown writes "it is OK to not be unanimous", and that "Every time one of us votes against you or Admin, you feel the need to scold us or justify why we might have voted the way we did."
While the email was sent to Clevenger and Dr. Clark, it was just addressed to Clevenger, opening with "Hello, Bill,". The FOIA Response did not show any replies from Clevenger or Dr. Clark.
See the email below, from our November 2 FOIA Response.
