KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Olathe School District’s Board of Education voted 5-2 to censure one of its members at a special meeting Tuesday.
The passage of the resolution Tuesday formally censures Brian Connell (Board Member, Position 6), removes him from all committee assignments and bars him from leadership positions “until further notice.” The resolution also calls on district staff to “enforce any and all security measures they see fit in alignment with security protocols related to any patron.”
The resolution was introduced by Shannon Wickliffe and seconded by Brad Boyd. Joining Wickliffe and Boyd in passing the resolution were board members Joe Beveridge, Julie Steel and Stacey Yurkovich.
Board member Robert Kuhn joined Connell in opposing the resolution.
The resolution highlighted instances where Connell was “disruptive” during meetings and “inhibited” board members from conducting business. Additionally, the resolution cited Connell for breaking “decorum” during public meetings.
Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Connell described the censure hearing as “contrived, coordinated, and lacking honesty and balance.”
“It’s an example of the misplaced priorities of the board,” Connell said.
Connell was sworn into office in January 2022 after campaigning on a “kids 1st” message.
“My message was very simple,” Connell said of the campaign, in which he defeated Brian Geary by a 54-46% margin.
Tuesday’s censure resolution also specifically cited Connell’s actions at the board’s May 4 meeting.
The resolution references Connell’s actions from the meeting that “made some individuals in attendance feel unsafe.”
A YouTube video of the meeting shows the board discussing a topic involving Connell before board member Steele makes a motion on the topic.
After the motion is seconded, video captures Connell leaving his chair and exiting the board room.
“I’m calling for a break,” Connell said as he left. “This is unacceptable. I’m walking out."
“What you’re doing is railroading myself and the community by failing to answer the questions in front of you.”
Connell said after Tuesday’s hearing that he asked the board and district staff for any formal complaints or reports from the public and hadn’t been provided anything from the meeting.
“Do I want anyone to feel unsafe? No,” Connell said, adding that he can’t control how others react to different situations.
Connell said he has no plans to step down from his position and intends to continue the conversation next week following the graduation ceremony at Olathe North High School.
Video of Tuesday's special meeting was not immediately available on the district's website.
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