Ryan Miller addresses his concerns with the Marietta City Schools Board of Education to the crowd during a town hall at Marietta High School on Wednesday night. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
MARIETTA — A group concerned with the state of the Marietta City school district met for a town hall in the Marietta High School cafeteria Wednesday.
The gathering happened a little over two weeks after community members attended a Marietta Board of Education meeting to express their concerns over recent resignations of coaches and administrators in the district, including the departure of Superintendent Brad Silvus. Local Church pastor Ryan Miller said then that board member John Lehman was contributing to a “toxic culture” in the district, a charge Lehman disputed.
Board member Cody Parman at the time acknowledged people’s concerns, describing the situation by saying “the house is on fire.”
Miller led Wednesday’s town hall, under the banner of a group he formed called Fight for Marietta Schools. He opened with a presentation based on an informal survey of teachers he conducted and conversations with school officials and other community leaders. According to statistics presented by Miller, the district has seen 32 resignations in 2024, up from 17 in 2022 and 21 the previous year.
“The reason I’m in this is because what became clear to me not too long ago was that our educational community felt like a voiceless community because of some things happening at a school board level,” he said.
Miller said 45 of the approximately 160 teachers in the district, or about 28%, completed the anonymous survey. Of those, he said, 25% stated that they were likely to leave the district within the next year. Teachers, who elected to remain anonymous, cited low morale and a “culture of fear” as key factors driving their desire to seek employment elsewhere, Miller said.
People attending the meeting expressed worry that the loss of so many experienced educators would be detrimental to the district and said addressing the underlying issues causing teachers to leave should become a top priority for the district and the community.
Miller said the survey also showed lower approval ratings for board members Russ Garrison and John Lehman than other members. Respondents expressed allegations of micromanagement and a lack of empathy from members of the board.
In response, Miller created a potential action plan to bring to the next board of education meeting on Monday:
* Hiring an independent crisis communications firm to investigate the issues.
* Providing written guarantees of support for certain coaches through the 2027 season
* Removing Garrison from curriculum meetings
* Calling for Lehman’s resignation from the board
* Hiring a new superintendent within 60-90 days
Miller’s suggestions were met with a mix of agreement and apprehension. Some in attendance said it would take much longer to hire a superintendent. Others said the list of demands would be a step in the correct direction to have the board understand what the parents, students and teachers wanted from the district.
A number of people in attendance declined to provide their names when asked by The Marietta Times.
Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@mariettatimes.com.