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6 THE WOODFORD SUN, Versailles, Ky. September 30, 2021 DRIVE IN RALLY Thursday, October 14th, 2021 5:30PM – 8PM Wildside Winery 5500 Troy Pike, Versailles, KY Silas Hart 859-433-6056 [email protected] Emily Downey 859-753-6649 [email protected] 2021 Property Tax Notice Property Owners, The Woodford County Sheriff’s Office wishes to notify all property owners or persons responsible for property tax for 2021, September is the month for printing of tax bills to ensure they are mailed out by October 1, 2021. Persons who have not applied for “Homestead Exemption” should notify the Property Valuation Office at 859-873-4101 or our office for more details. ** All dates which fall on a weekend or a holiday, postmarked mail will be honored for the period of collections. + April 15th all delinquent tax bills are transferred over to the Woodford County Clerk for collections per Kentucky Statute. NEW THIS TAX SEASON Drive-Thru Property Tax Payment Location: Woodford County Government Center 202 East Green Street Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm October 1, 2021 – November 5, 2021 ONLY Respectfully, John F. Wilhoit Woodford County Sheriff The Sheriff’s web page to look up tax bills: www.woodfordcountysheriff.org Tax Collection Schedule for 2021 October 1 - November 1 November 2 - December 31 January 1 - January 31 February 1 - and Thereafter 2% Discount Face Value ** 5% Penalty 10% Penalty + 10% add-on fee EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE FOR CLASSIFIED ADS ere will be an early deadline for all classified ads for the Oct. 28 issue. Please send in all submissions by noon ursday, Oct. 21. is deadline will only be for the Oct. 28 county-wide issue and applies only to classified submissions. For all other ads and submissions, the deadline will remain noon Monday, Oct. 25. RIFT Continued from p. 1 and I think it’s never a bad time to do something that will benefit our students.” In a Sept. 20 email, Nance voiced her frustra- tion over not being allowed to attend board meetings in person and the mask mandate. “There are many parents, myself included, who do not want to be forced to co-parent with the government and would like to have a choice as to whether or not their child should be forced to wear a mask all day while attend- ing school,” she wrote. “As citizens, and parents, we should have the opportunity to voice our concerns and opinions regarding issues that affect our children.” In a Sept. 21 email to Nance, Springate wrote, “I feel like I am the only voice of reason and continually ignored and silenced by the chair. The past 3 years since she came on the board have been a nightmare of wasted tax dollars, illegal and unethical behavior, secret communications and alli- ances, and dirty politics.” “That is just kind of how I feel,” Springate told the Sun. “To be honest, I’ve said those exact words in open meetings. I’ve said those exact words over the past three years numerous times.” She said unfor- tunately, “we have board members who choose not” to do things that are ethical and above board. “… She very much finds herself as the odd man out at our meetings,” Bradley told the Sun, “and is there by her own doing. She’s argumentative and difficult for all of the board members to work with.” She also said some of Springate’s allega- tions about her conduct may cross a line as slanderous. “But ultimately,” she added, “the working relationship of the board has to be focused on the students. And that is how I try to lead, and I am comfortable knowing that I have done that.” Springate described Bradley’s behavior as an effort by her to ensure the entire school board is not informed when there’s com- munication with the board’s attorney or professionals involved in the high school project. “I do think things have gotten better since we’ve gotten two new board members (Angela McKale and Glass),” Springate said “… It’s a fixable situation, but communication has to go to everyone.” McKale told the Sun that she receives all the informa- tion she needs to make a decision and that her voice is heard during board meet- ings. “Is Dani perfect? No. Is she doing a decent job? I think she is,” McKale said. “Sherri’s a nightmare, quite honestly,” she added. “If you don’t agree 100 percent with her, you’re her enemy. And I think that that’s what happened here. But I do believe that every- body has a chance to speak … Everybody is invited to speak their mind. And I think everybody does that, and I think everybody does that with general respect, other than Sherri.” “It’s not being a night- mare to speak up,” said Springate. “… I just have a different opinion, and I as an elected official have a right to be heard.” Springate said she wants to receive all communica- tions with the chair, so she can make informed deci- sions. Glass said Bradley does a great job communicating with the board and tries her best to keep meetings mov- ing smoothly. “I think we have four of our members that … discuss an issue. We can have dis- agreements. We can share our opinion,” said Glass. Four board members are able to move on whether a vote goes their way or not, she added. Glass said Springate continues to bring up issues that had been discussed be- fore she and McKale were board members. “I think that really gets away from the task at hand, which is trying to do what’s best for the students,” she said. Springate said she’s not rehashing anything when she asks questions about the working budget and the high school project, which are still relevant. “That’s our job. That’s why we’re having meetings and that should be done publicly,” she said. In a response to Nance’s Sept. 20 email expressing concerns about not being allowed to attend board meetings (the board agreed to return to in-person pub- lic meetings at its meeting Monday), Springate said, “… Bradley, on her own, decided to ban the public from meetings.” “Each month I reach out to the Woodford County Health Department for a recommendation on the safest way for our Board to meet,” wrote Bradley in her Sept. 21 response to Nance’s email (forwarded to school board members). “This month, given the spread and infection rates within our county a virtual meeting was indicated.” She also noted the Wood- ford Fiscal Court, Midway City Council and other boards have been having virtual meetings. Springate said she’s “totally comfortable” with letting the public attend board meetings – pointing out people are allowed to at- tend volleyball and football games. “I would like folks to follow the (public health) protocols,” including social distancing and masking recommendations. “I think it’s hypocritical to say, ‘Please come out to the sports events and any other events at your school, but don’t come to the board meetings. We don’t want you there. You’re banned from the board meetings, but the schools are open …’” She described reading emailed public comments during board meetings as “better than nothing.” In her Sept. 20 email, Springate told Nance that she wanted the board to meet and discuss the mask- ing policy before the school year started and again after the passage of Senate Bill 1, which left that decision up to local school districts. Woodford County schools Superintendent Danny Adkins has said he opted to continue an indoor masking requirement in schools because of data showing student attendance rates of over 90 percent. “… We have supported our Superintendent in making decisions that he feels afford us the best opportunity to keep our kids in person for school,” wrote Bradley in her Sept. 21 email. “While masking can present its challenges, they are not nearly as difficult as virtual instruction was for the vast majority of students.” Asked when a decision may happen to lift the district’s mask mandate, Adkins told the Sun a lot of things will come into play prior to him taking that action (in consultation with the Woodford County Health Department), in- cluding a decline in cases of COVID-19 in the county and other positive data that need to remain consistent for a period of time. He noted attendees of indoor sports at WCHS are re- quired to wear masks, but that is not a requirement for outdoor events. Springate said she dis- agreed with making a deci- sion about masking without asking for public input. “It’s not that I agree that mask- ing is right or masking is wrong. It’s that I believe that the board of education was tasked with making that decision. And I believe that the board of education should do that in an open meeting,” she said. Springate told the Sun that she’s received dozens of emails from parents and community members expressing concerns over the past few weeks about not being able to provide input at board meetings. “… Without constituent input and input from the community, it’s really hard to make decisions,” she said, “… because a lot of times, people are bringing things up that we haven’t considered …” McKale acknowledged the board has some difficult decisions to make – and needs to remain transparent when having conversations about cutting expenses or increasing taxes. “I think we have to move forward (with building a new high school),” McKale said. Moreover, she said it’s time to move on, but that’s “really hard … when you’ve got one person that is constantly questioning, constantly accusing, con- stantly getting in the way.” Overall, Adkins said he hasn’t seen the sort of issues at board meetings that he observed prior to coming here in July. “Because I do feel as though we have a pretty united board right now. We may have one rogue member, but I do feel as though we have a fairly united board. Things have changed,” he said. He also acknowledged it’s the job of board mem- bers to ask questions to support a system of checks and balances in the school district, when asked about McKale’s recent questions at board meetings about balancing a budget and addressing an operating deficit. Amanda Glass Angela McKale MEETINGS Continued from p. 1 limited opportunity for par- ents or the community to be involved in and/or voice and express our opinions, ideas, and concerns,” she wrote. “…You are elected officials and you are using covid as an excuse to hide from the public. If there is nobody else there to ask questions or voice a differing opinion, it is very easy for you to avoid transparency … this is not unnoticed.” Test to Stay program The board unanimously approved a Test to Stay program that gives parents the option of having their children take a rapid CO- VID-19 test after a close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. Students would remain in school if they receive a negative test result rather being quarantined, Assistant Superintendent Garet Wells said. The test- ing will be conducted by Ethos Laboratories, which is working toward agree- ments to provide testing services in about 50 districts in Kentucky, he said. Under current plans, Test to Stay would begin as a pilot program at Woodford County Middle School Monday, Oct. 11, (after fall break) and become avail- able in the other schools a week later, Wells said. Schools Superintendent Danny Adkins said he’s very excited about Test to Stay because it’s federally- funded (no cost to the dis- trict) and keeps students in the classroom. SRO at meetings The board voted unani- mously to have a school resource officer (SRO) at all of its meetings for the safety of board members, staff and student-representative Lizzy Shryock. The SRO will earn over- time pay (time and a half) for hours worked beyond a normal 40-hour week, but the exact cost of hav- ing an officer at meetings was uncertain because it’s not known how many ad- ditional hours an SRO will work, Wells told board member Sherri Springate in response to her question. “I guess the question is,” said Adkins, “can you really put a price on safety.” Lizzy agreed. “I definitely feel safer with an SRO here just as a student in this school,” she said, so she didn’t know why the board wouldn’t provide that same level of safety and security at its meetings. “I definitely think it’s a wise idea,” said Richardson, who cited rising tensions in today’s society created by issues like mask mandates, for example. The board also agreed to allow a school’s site-based decision making council to have the option of request- ing an SRO for its meetings. Vaccination incentive The board voted unani- mously to allow district employees to receive $100 incentives – reimbursed by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) – for being vaccinated against COVID-19. In not agreeing to provide a matching $100 vaccine incentive funded by the district, Bradley noted the district gave teachers and other employees an incentive bonus last school year for their efforts during the pandemic at a total cost of about $700,000. “We are just a conduit for KDE at this point,” said board member Angela McKale.
