Board of Education: ‘We’re committed’ to better communication

Addressing the Trussville City Schools Board of Education on Sept. 30 — the day Superintendent Pattie Neill was placed on administrative leave for 60 days and citizens implored the board to vote her out of office — Trussville resident Massey Willingham indicated that the outcry from the community was not solely due to the school system’s lack of communication over a Hewitt-Trussville High School student creating a “death notebook” with names of 37 classmates that went unreported to authorities for nearly a year. He said it was a culmination of years of a broken system.

“This is just the dam finally breaking,” he said.

The Board of Education is now trying to keep its head above water. Board Vice President Kim DeShazo used the word “communication” six times in a letter to parents Sept. 29.

“As to the complaints about communication: Parents, we hear you,” DeShazo wrote. “I have three kids in the Trussville school system, including one at the high school. I understand your frustration, disappointment, and fear. I am so grateful that we are discussing these issues today instead of after some tragic event. There is nothing we can do to change the events of October 2021 or since. What we can do is learn from the mistakes and prevent them from ever happening again. I am committed to that and will do everything I can to ensure that our kids remain safe in Trussville City Schools and our families are treated with honesty and respect.”

Less than 24 hours after that letter was sent, the Board heard from parents and students for more than two hours. A chief complaint not just now, but for years, has been that Board members do not have school system email addresses. There was long just a tcsboe@trussvillecityschools.com email address. All five Board members now have individual email addresses.

At the Sept. 30 Board meeting, Board President Kathy Brown said a “complete overhaul” of the system’s communications plan was needed. Jason Gaston, who started as the system’s public relations supervisor Jan. 18, 2021, resigned to take a similar role at Alabaster City Schools in September, just days before the “death notebook” story broke. DeShazo said she hoped to keep the community informed of communications improvements in real time as the Board made decisions.

“Anything worth doing is worth doing well,” she said.

Late Sept. 30, a school system update from Brown was sent to parents and the community advising of the creation of individual Board of Education email addresses.

“The Board of Education was deeply moved by your concerns,” Brown wrote. “We will walk through the process together of increasing communication to faculty, staff, students, parents and our community, review of our special education program and a comprehensive assessment of our safety protocols. Thank you for your support and consideration as we address these issues moving forward.”

On Oct. 13, the Trussville City Schools Board of Education hired Frank Costanzo as acting superintendent. Costanzo is the former superintendent of Tuscaloosa County Schools.