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Jessica Risenhoover at last night's meeting |
The disgruntled speaker is Rockwood mom Jessica Risenhoover. Risenhoover is known for speaking at school board meetings, which she attends regularly. She speaks during the patron comment times when all community members have an opportunity to address the school board for any reason.
During Risenhoover's comment last night, when she called for board member Izzy Imig to be removed from committees, she continued to defy instruction from board president Jaime Bayes in regard to what she's allowed to say at meetings.
Bayes ultimately ended Risenhoover's comment about halfway through the three minutes that are allotted to speakers. You can see it in this recorded video of the meeting at the 38:37 minute mark.
SECURITY
Risenhoover stayed after the meeting last night and was there when Imig was leaving, so security walked Imig to her car. Security is a heightened issue for Imig, who was
in the news recently after items of a threatening nature were sent to Imig's home.
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As seen in the Eureka Leader |
The board vote was 4-3 and is one that Risenhoover has criticized in her other patron comments at other meetings. Risenhoover has also been critical of Imig on social media for months and was caught on video removing Imig's campaign signs during the election last spring.
HISTORY
Risenhoover might not have been interrupted last night if she was not already known for disparaging others at school board meetings. She was banned from attending school board meetings during the 2021-2022 school year after yelling at other attendees during one of her patron comments.
CONTEXT: NO NAMES
Rockwood's school board frowns on naming people during meetings. The rules for decorum stated before each meeting specify that you cannot name employees or students, but it has not generally been applied to board members or other community members.
HARDER STANCE?
It appears board President Jaime Bayes is now taking a harder stance against disruptive comments at meetings, which have plagued the board for months. Earlier this year, a patron ended her public comment with the phrase C U Next Tuesday, which is known for spelling out a vulgar word that is used to demean women. The word rhymes with punt.
That patron was not corrected during the meeting. You can read more,
here.
COMMENT RESTRICTION?
All of this comes at a time when the school board is considering making changes so that patron comments have to relate to agenda items, which would have prevented the comment Risenhoover made last night. It has boiled down to a battle of decorum vs. free speech.
If this harder line against comments that break the rules continues, theoretically, there won't be a need to restrict comments to only those that relate to the agenda.
SPECIFICS OF LAST NIGHT'S INTERRUPTION
Risenhoover began her comment saying she was unable to keep it positive, accused Imig of violating board ethics, and said Imig has been "continuously" attacking board members, parents, teachers and students.
She offered no evidence of it in the comment but stated she would send an email to the board with "all the time stamps" of Izzy Imig's transgressions.
RISENHOOVER ROUTINE
Rockwood records show, Risenhoover routinely emails the school board about transgressions of board members and of other district parents. In a previous email found in a records request, Risenhoover stated she informs the board of such transgressions in case members need them for litigation.
LAWSUIT: A TWIST
It appears Risenhoover intended for the district to use what she sends in legal action against parents, but, it was instead used to sue the district.
A
lawsuit was filed by Brittany Hogan, Rockwood's previous director of Educational Equity and Diversity. The lawsuit references some of the same screenshots found in emails Risenhoover sent to Rockwood.
Last night's interruption ended with board president, Jaime Bayes, telling Risenhoover:
"Your time is, your time is up."
The exchange also put a damper on the first meeting for Rockwood's newly elected board members, who were sworn in prior to the meeting.