Leadership Under Pressure: How Five BOE Members Stepped Up
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Laura’s Notes on the 02/27/2025 BOE Meeting
The concerns I raised in my agenda summary—politically motivated Board appointments and a questionable committee structure—were on full display at the February 27, 2025, BOE meeting. The comments and behavior in the room only reinforced these issues.
It’s often said that if you want to see someone’s true intentions, put them under pressure and watch how they react. That certainly played out last night.
From blatant hypocrisy to outright low blows, the hours-long debate over committee structure was intense and, at times, deeply uncomfortable. But amid the dysfunction, true leadership emerged—this time, from five BOE members who refused to back down: Ms. Khanna, Ms. Terrero, Ms. Akiri, Ms. Joly, and Dr. Foregger. I applaud Ms. Terrero taking the reigns and working with her cohorts to diligently to get the committees formed.
These members stood their ground, remained committed to resolution, and refused to let the chaos derail progress. Ms. Terrero repeatedly shut down demeaning rhetoric from Mrs. Stanley and urged her colleagues to trust one another. Meanwhile, Ms. Khanna, Ms. Akiri, and Ms. Joly calmly exposed the contradictions and delay tactics used by Mrs. Bradford and Mrs. Stanley to justify ad-hoc committees.
They didn’t raise their voices.
They didn’t resort to insults.
They didn’t question their colleagues’ qualifications.
Instead, they remained patient, focused, and determined, ensuring the Board moved forward despite the obstruction.
That is leadership.
Adopted Committee Structure
(Approved by a 6-2 vote, with Stanley and Dillon opposed)
- Athletics/Co-Curricular: Dillon (Chair), Bradford, Terrero
- Curriculum: Joly (Chair), Foregger, Stanley
- Finance and Facilities: Foregger (Chair), Akiri, Stanley
- Negotiations: Bradford (Chair), Foregger, Akiri
- Personnel: Khanna (Chair), Stanley, Dillon
- Policy: Stanley (Chair), Joly, Khanna
- Strategic Planning: Akiri (Chair), Terrero, Bradford
- Technology/Communications: Terrero (Chair), Joly, Bradford
Despite spending over two hours with 6 (of the 8) Board members working together to carefully craft a fair committee structure, Mrs. Bradford repeatedly attempted to delay the vote—using stall tactics such as:
Re-reading committee assignments multiple times
Proposing a special meeting to finalize committees (despite exhaustive discussion)
Insisting the Board couldn’t go past midnight due to custodial staff schedules (even though the meeting ended right around 12:20AM)
And then there was the hypocrisy.
Mrs. Stanley repeatedly attacked members for lacking qualifications, arguing that some were unfit to serve on specific committees.
Her argument collapsed under its own weight—because it was never about qualifications. It was about control.
Last night’s meeting made one thing clear: True leadership isn’t about obstruction, condescension, or political maneuvering—it’s about getting the job done.
Thankfully, five BOE members rose to the occasion when it mattered most.