BELOIT — The West Branch Board of Education continued to receive public scrutiny Monday regarding the contents of text messages between Superintendent Micki Egli and board President Mikki Kanagy discussing the district’s controversial handling of head girls basketball coach Walt DeShields’ contract.

Resident Svetlana Herron once again called Egli and Kanagy’s discussion of DeShields in text messages obtained by a podcast production through a public records request inappropriate and unethical and continued calling for both to resign.

“I urge you both to do the right thing and resign from your positions. You still have the opportunity to be remembered as individuals who overstepped their authority but ultimately made the right decision, or as those who engaged in unethical behavior and hoped people would forget. I assure you they will not forget,” said Herron.

Herron also asked the rest of the board what they intended to do to restore the community’s faith in the board of education moving forward.

Jeri Cameron called on the board and those attending the meeting in the audience to picture in their mind whoever they felt was the best teacher within the district and what made them so special. She then asked them “to keep that teacher in mind” and question if that teacher may have been the one who reached out to thank her for challenging Egli and the board’s decisions in its June 24 meeting “because it’s the worst morale they’ve felt in over 20 years,” or if they were the teacher who told them that they had “applied for jobs in three other districts this summer” or another who “is so nervous to return to school this year that they’ve started seeing a therapist.”

Cameron further challenged them to write down three things that they could do to improve those teachers’ working environments and to make the first thing on that list, reaching out to the person that they pictured and telling them, noting that “they need the recognition, and they need the support, and they’re begging for it.”

“If our culture right now is so rough that our teachers are scared and don’t want to be here, what can we do? What changes can we make,” questioned Cameron.

The West Branch Education Association, the union which represents the district’s teachers, also continued its call for Kanagy’s resignation in a statement read by union Vice President Jackie Lyons. According to the statement the association “stands behind [its] last two statements that the board president should resign,” at it feels “that this is in the best interest of [the district’s] students and teachers.”

The association is also against the hire of a Director of Instructional Programming, which the statement called a luxury the district could not afford amid budget cuts and financial uncertainty for public schools across Ohio. The statement also called on the board to place a levy for district funding on the ballot for voters, and to continue placing it on the ballot until voters approve it.

“We cannot count on the government to provide the proper funding, and our community needs to support our children,” said Lyons.

During the meeting, the board also approved several personnel and administrative items.

Personnel matters approved included: the resignations of Director of Instructional Programming Angeline Theis, Seventh Grade Volleyball Coach Seth Fieldhouse, and Assistant Treasurer Chelsea Shafer; the hire of Terryl Swejk as Director of Instructional Programming for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years; the hire of Knox Elementary/Preschool Building Administrator John Ault for the 2025-2026 school year; the hire of Athletic Training Career Technical Educator for 12 hours per week at a rate of $30 per hour; the hire of Bus Driver Kate Flowers for the 2025-2026 school year; substitute and miscellaneous rates for the 2025-2026 school year; the hire of Kim Courtwright as a classified substitute for the 2025-2026 school year; and approval for Tiffany Hobbins to volunteer as a music chaperone.

Administrative matters approved included: the district’s plan for online make-up hours; an agreement with the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County’s Community Action Rural Transit System for the 2025-2026 school year; an agreement with the East Central Ohio Educational Service Center to facilitate Title 1D programming; and a contract with the Local Government Services section of the Ohio Auditor of State for the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for the statements covering fiscal year 2025.

The meeting concluded with an executive session to discuss the employment of a public official and to consider legal matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations or state statutes with no action to follow.

The board of education will meet next at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 20.

mahart@mojonews.com