Dear Editor,

What I witnessed 2/6/2023 was the worst case of manipulation of power I have ever seen. I’m talking about the special meeting of the Willow Springs School Board that was called in order to seat a replacement for the former member that resigned. When replacing a board member, seems only logical that the best qualified applicant would be chosen. Not in this case as evidenced who was picked out of all of the six applicants which some were possibly over qualified candidates. Let me say before going any further I was a candidate but far from the most qualified for the position.
First, I walked into the board room and let’s call her candidate 2 or C2 for short, was all talkative and no noticeable concern of how she needed to present herself to the board of education. C2 was making jokes with members of the board and discussing her friends on Facebook. The other applicants were going over in their heads and reading notes on what they would cover in their presentation, including myself. I told my significant other that C2 has already been chosen for the vacancy. She asked how did I know and I explained that C2 wasn’t worried or concerned about the outcome. As I said previously I was up for the vacancy position myself as one of the candidates and I’m also running for the school board as well so let’s get that out in the open. I gave my presentation first followed by C2. I thought I have a adequate resume for the vacancy position from what information I gathered. Then C2 began with her resume and was I surprised of what she brought to the table. C2's highlights were she was a teamster with a CDL licenses and cleaned up storm debris from the hurricanes that hit the south. C2 also claims to make a six figure income without having a degree. C2 also claims the board was not a big educational part but more technical. 
Next we heard from I’ll call her C3, a RN with at least a Bachelors Degree in nursing. She had a very qualifying resume for the vacancy I would think. C3 has sisters that are in the educational field which to me would be a great resource of information. Next we heard from C4 who also had a very impressive resume along with serving on several boards. The following applicant was C5 and what a applicant he turned out to be. He served 15 years on the board with 11 years as president. C5 also carries a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and is a certified public administrator. C5 may have been over qualified for the vacancy but he was willing to serve. The last candidate was C6 which like C5 was possibly over qualified for the vacancy but again she was willing to complete the term that was on the vacancy position the board was filling. The president of the board thanked everyone that showed interest in the vacancy and immediately asked for a nomination after clearing up a procedural matter. At this point a board member nominated C2 for the vacancy and with one abstain C2 was voted in as the person to fill the vacancy. 
Now what happened next threw me for a loop. The gentleman that nominated C2 for the position claimed it wasn’t personal. Now I’m here to tell you something about the mind. Your mind hates to not tell the truth and will hint to those around you that something isn’t right on what you have said or what you might say. In the case of the gentleman who said it wasn’t personal his mind might have been saying we staged this entire meeting knowing we were going to appoint C2 to the position from the beginning. If there wasn’t something misguiding in the process there would never be a reason for the gentleman to claim the process wasn’t personal now would there. Let me just say this, I wasn’t the most qualified for the position. In my eyes C5 was the best candidate for the open position and should have been seated. 
I contacted the State Board of Education to see if they could straighten things out for me on why a school board would purposely appoint a lesser qualified person to a school board over a highly qualified person. The person I spoke with said after listening to my dilemma said he would contact me the following day giving him time to make contact with the superintendent. The following day he contacted Marty Spence he informed me and told Marty that someone had concerns about the procedure. He claimed Marty replied, Let me guess it was Larry Huitt. Well Marty you are correct, it was me and I, along with everyone else in the district should question anything we feel uncomfortable about. To appoint someone who’s claim to fame is she is a teamster with a CDL licence and runs a food truck over a MBA with 15 years on the school board is surely not looking out for the well being, educational needs and requirements of the students in our school district now is it. I hope that some day you and the board members will be able to sleep easy knowing the disservice you invoked on the people of this community.  
 
Larry Huitt, Willow Springs
 
Publisher’s note: Mr. Huitt is a candidate for the Willow Springs R-IV School Board and will appear on the April ballot. There are four contenders for the three available seats. Incumbents Matt Hobson, Adam Webb, and Brent Colley have all filed for reelection.
 
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