A Portrait of Dysfunction: Examples of Disappointing Board Behavior

Deflecting from the board's dismal results from the district's 2024-25 stakeholder survey. At the first August 2025 meeting, the board president shut down discussion of the results, claiming he hadn't had a chance to review them (he'd had the results for a month). At the next meeting, Morrissette said:  "My view is, the survey should not even have the school board in it." The survey is intended to show areas where introspection and improvement are needed. (2025) Learn more.

Financial negligence. The board majority voted to kick the budget can down the road when faced with a coming deficit, putting students' educational experience at risk. In spite of repeated warnings from the superintendent, district financial manager, board treasurer and others, the board majority blocked a minor millage rate increase that could have eased the deficit. Now community members will likely face higher millage rate increases in 1-3 years, on top of cuts to staff and/or student programs. (2025) Learn more.

Earned the first-ever Vote of No Confidence in a school board by Pine-Richland's teaching staff. The board majority is constantly micromanaging and ignoring their input, causing them to feel disrespected and impacting morale. Retirements have increased, vacancies have gone unfilled, and teacher morale is at its lowest point ever at PR. (2025) Learn more.

Refused English teachers’ request to add novel Angel of Greenwood as a 9th grade core text. (2025). Denied, by refusal to hold a vote, English teachers’ request to add a modern novel about a Black character as a 9th grade core text. No reason given. (2024) Learn more.

Voted — against the advisement of PR administrators and counselors — to make counseling lessons opt-in instead of opt-out, creating confusion for parents and unnecessary added work for counselors and parents. (2024).  Refused to adjust the policy a year later, even after 97% of parents opted their student in to participate. (2025).  The opt-in requirement means parents have to act in order for their student to participate, and counselors must spend a huge amount of time tracking the opt-ins and contacting parents who haven't responded.

Fearmongered and wasted valuable time. A group of now-elected school board candidates (Morrissette, Wiethorn, L. Miller) claimed porn was in the school libraries in order to get voters to the polls. They vowed they would protect children from such evils by removing books if elected (2023). Not a single book has been removed (because there is no pornography in the school libraries), but the board wasted ten months overhauling and ramming through a policy based on one that cost another district millions in lawsuits.  At one meeting, they refused to give librarians 5 minutes to talk and repeatedly blocked students from speaking. Watch video clip. Rather than rewriting a policy that worked fine, the board should have been focusing on finance. Majority members' lack of understanding of the financial workings and needs of the district was evident during the summer 2025 budget discussions and vote. (2024-2025) Learn more.

Doubled legal costs from the previous school year and were unaware of it. (2025)

Turned down English teachers’ request to replace outdated textbooks for which online access, supplements and support expired. (May 2024)

Questioned the inclusion of suicide-prevention programs at Pine-Richland, in spite of the ongoing student mental health crisis. (2024)

Showing up to meetings unprepared. It has been a regular occurrence for majority members — particularly the board president — to fail to reviewed information provided to them by administrators prior to meetings. They sometimes need to use meeting time to look through pages and ask questions that are answered clearly in supplemental materials. Supplemental information is made available to the public on the day of each meeting but is provided to board members well in advance. 

Repeatedly refused to sign off on board policy 011 — an agreement stating they will act ethically and in the best interests of the district. (Brussalis and Morrissette, multiple years) Learn more.