A rare shut-down of public speakers and an early, chaotic ending marked Monday evening’s Lakota school board meeting after an outburst from a board member claiming the board is “muzzling” the public.

At the start of Lakota Board of Education’s public meeting, an attorney contracted by the school district came to the speaker’s podium and suggested the board temporarily suspend its public participation policy for meetings.

The attorney cited a pending lawsuit filed by a resident who claims the board has illegally restricted the freedoms of some speakers at recent meetings who were criticizing the Lakota board and district officials including Lakota Superintendent Matt Miller.

Against the objections of board member Darbi Boddy, the board then discussed suspending for an un-specified number of meetings the public comment portion of its gatherings and then voted 4-1 to do so, with Boddy the lone opposition.

“Muzzling our community is a bad idea,” Boddy told her board colleagues. “It will not go well for you.”

The meeting drew a relatively large audience coming in the wake of the board’s last meeting where it voted to have the non-criminal behavior of Miller reviewed by a private investigation firm.

But member Julie Shaffer said the board’s unusual move Monday to keep audience members who signed up to speak from speaking was a necessary move given the current lawsuit.

“It’s unfortunate we are having to pursue this motion,” said Shaffer, who added she was sympathetic of Board of Education President Lynda O’Connor’s task of moderating the speech of some members of the public.

Conducting proper public comment portions of meetings has “become increasingly difficult in our litigious society,” Shaffer said, joining some other members in raising concerns over the legal costs of defending the board’s actions in court as financially draining to the school system.

Last year Lakota officials were sued by a former board candidate and school parent — Vanessa Wells — and that lawsuit ended in a settlement agreement ordered by a local judge finding the district’s governing board had violated Ohio open public meeting laws during the two previous years.

“We have to make sure we are completely buttoned up on this so we don’t have to continue to deal with litigation,” said Shaffer.

Member Kelley Casper said over the last two years “the amount of resources that we are wasting on legal fees is becoming out of control.”

Casper also spoke to the sometimes-raucous atmosphere caused by some audience members at board meetings in recent months.

“It’s gotten to the point where a lot of times at the mic there’s not even any decorum and there’s not even any respect and people yelling from the audience. It’s gotten to the point where we can’t even conduct business,” she said.

Moments of such behavior were on display during Monday’s meeting, which also saw a Butler County Sheriff’s deputy repeatedly ask some members to refrain from holding up protest signs and not yell out.

During the board members’ closing comments at the end of the meeting, Boddy did not wait her turn and jumped in with comments prompting President O’Connor to say Boddy was acting out of order.

Boddy, however, continued to speak over O’Connor, criticizing Miller and the board president and fellow members regarding the board’s handling of the superintendent’s situation.

O’Connor then spoke over Boddy and asked the other board members’ desire on whether they wanted to vote for adjournment.

But during the roll call of the final adjournment vote, Boddy said “let the minutes reflect that the president interrupted me” then shouted in response to some audience members’ outcry “excuse me I’m talking!”

To which O’Connor said “Mrs. Boddy you are again out of order,” before calling for the vote that adjourned the meeting.

Lakota school parent Kristi Ertel said after the meeting’s abrupt end that she had signed up speak and waited 90 minutes for the start of the 6:30 p.m. meeting at Plains Junior School.

Ertel said the board’s elimination of the public speaking portions of meetings, usually two, 30-minute segments, was “disgraceful.”

“At a time when our community is reeling … shutting down public comment feels like tyranny and communism. They have lost the trust of this community,” she said.

Editor’s note: Because no charges have been filed against Lakota Superintendent Matt Miller, nor have any accusations been made public by the district, the Journal-News is not reporting the allegations.

Michael Clark has covered northern Greater Cincinnati K-12 schools for more than two decades. Schools – whether they be public or private or post-secondary – are often the centerpieces of communities. This is especially true for Ohio’s Butler and southern Warren counties, two of the most populous and fastest growing areas in the state.