TIPP CITY — Tipp City Schools Superintendent Aaron Moran has issued a statement encouraging the community to “move forward” amid the current atmosphere surrounding Tipp City Schools. The statement comes after a contentious Sept. 5 Tipp City Board of Education (BOE) meeting when Board member Anne Zakkour appeared to gesture a Nazi salute to former board President Simon Patry.
A Sept. 26 special Tipp City BOE meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum of board members to carry out the meeting. The lack of a quorum for the meeting was a result of Board members Zakkour and Theresa Dunaway choosing not to attend the meeting.
Moran has issued the following “important information from the superintendent:”
“Tipp City Schools has many achievement to celebrate and significant goals to strive toward to foster student success. The current state of disagreement and vitriol around the school district jeopardizes the focus and taints our students, district and community. I understand people are unhappy with the behaviours of others However, the hate, name-calling and disgust in public spaces will not solve our issues or mover the district forward.
“Differences and disagreements in a community can be expected and are good for growth when the focus is on ideas, not personal attacks. The ongoing, contentious back-and-forth centered on the Board of Education members is diverting attention from the primary goal of serving our students and improving the quality of education they deserve. I will continue to repeat that we must maintain sight of what is best for students.
“We must foster a more professional and productive environment to advance our district’s mission and implement initiatives that help students. We need to move forward.
“Harsh social media conversations further divide our community. I want to return the conversation to our shared vision for Tipp City Schools. What best for our students, and how will we exceed these expectations? This starts with me.
“I will host Community Coffees in the coming weeks to talk with community members and focus on how to move forward. Look for dates, times and locations in next week’s update. I hope you will be part of this for our kids.”
