Lebanon school board censures member for social media comment

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

The Lebanon school board voted 8-1 during the March 16 meeting to censure fellow board member William Eckenroth for a social media comment posted on Feb. 8, which the resolution stated could be perceived as discriminatory.

Eckenroth was the only no vote.

The motion was brought before the board after Eckenroth posted the following on social media:

There’s no jobs in PR. The island doesn’t have anything to offer at all. Every person alive in PR is receiving our taxes to survive and it’s been that way for generations. We took control of PR in 1898. Why isn’t there education system at the very least teaching English? Some people might think this is “Racist”, I’ve been called a racist 100’s of times and I don’t really care if it’s said again but I’m still mind blown that we have Americans not being taught English.

The approved resolution said that the board discussed the post at a Feb. 16 executive session, where Eckenroth “attempted to justify and explain the purpose of this post, even after being given an opportunity to apologize for the comments made, knowing said comments were generally perceived as being hurtful, racially insensitive, and offensive.”

The resolution stated that the board cannot remain silent when such comments are made by one of its own, and that the comments don’t reflect the opinions, beliefs, or general standards of governance of the board.

Through the approval, the board called on Eceknroth to apologize to the Lebanon School District community and make clear that the comments he made were not on behalf of the board.

The resolution further calls on him to enroll in social media and sensitivity trainings targeted on implicit and unconscious bias training and/or inclusive leadership training.

Eckenroth will be removed from his committee assignments, and the board requested that he resign his position on the board.

Board president Robert Okonak said after the meeting that updated committee assignments will be up for a vote at the next board meeting.

Before voting on the resolution, Eckenroth read a response and said he will not resign. He said no members of the public have attended any recent public meetings to express concern about the social media comment.

He also said the resolution doesn’t identify specific policies he violated.

“Instead, it relies on language that my comments could be perceived as offensive,” Eckenroth said. “‘Could be perceived’ is not a policy violation. It is a subjective interpretation.”

Eckenroth also brought up the timing of the censuring decision, which he said came after he “raised concerns” about the display of a transgender flag inside Lebanon High School.

Okonak said this was not the reason for the censure.

“The language in the resolution speaks to our concerns, and that’s how we stated and why we stated as such,” he said after the meeting.

District resident Abigail Jarboe spoke during public comment after the resolution was passed to share her support for Eckenroth and her disagreement with sexuality and gender expression.

“Do you want to have these children to be abomination to God? Do you want yourselves to be abomination to God because you’ve allowed this?” she said. “This is wickedness. The Bible says it is abomination to God, and you are going to have to stand before God and give an account for what you have done.”

Eckenroth clapped following her comment. He was the only one in the room to do so.

After the meeting, Eckenroth posted comment on Facebook, saying in part, “If people want to understand who I am and what I stand for, they should look at my record of service in this community. A single comment does not define a person — a lifetime of actions does.”

In other business, the board:

• Granted approval to award the request for quote for the sale of retired technology assets to Second Life Mac in the estimated amount of $186,440. The final valuation is dependent upon vendor audit, according to the agenda, and proceeds from the sale will be allocated to the technology services department to support district projects.
• Voted to enter into a contract with Access Control Systems for the purchase of Magnetometer equipment in the estimated total amount of $23,011.92.
• Agreed to enter into a contract with Marco Technologies to purchase shredding services in the estimated total amount of $30,068.50.
• Granted approval to enter into a contract with Radio Maintenance to purchase radio repeating equipment in the estimated total amount of $59,254.
• Approved all personnel items listed in the agenda.

The Lebanon school board will meet next on April 13 for a committee of the whole meeting, and the next business meeting will be on April 20. Meetings will take place in the district office board room in the Lebanon High School at 1000 S. 8th St., Lebanon.