15-04-2025
Champaign school board meeting canceled due to lack of quorum
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The Champaign School District was supposed to meet Monday night for their regularly scheduled meeting, but that meeting was canceled after three members called in absent.
The three members who would've been absent include Mark Holm, Betsy Holder, and Amy Armstrong. The meeting's agenda could have seen the board confirm two principals at Edison Middle School and Booker T. Washington Academy, as well as SROs at Central and Centennial High Schools.
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WCIA caught up with the school board president to weigh in on how she feels about the canceled meeting and the state of the current board.
'By not being able to meet tonight and not being able to find another date to meet at the time, we're holding people's careers up,' said Gianina Baker. 'And I don't think that's appropriate.'
The Champaign School Board canceled its meeting due to a lack of a quorum, which means the board did not have the necessary four members in attendance to hold a meeting.
'We can't meet tonight because three individuals have decided they don't want to meet. This is not what's in the best interests of our students,' Baker said. 'And I would hope that our public would understand that.'
Board member Amy Armstrong told WCIA that the district was well aware she would not be at tonight's meeting, saying in part:
'Prior to today, there was no effort made to reschedule,' Armstrong said. 'I've not heard any information on these important topics prior to being asked to vote on them.'
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She added:
'This petty toxic circus needs to end.'
Betsy Holder said she told the district of her likely absence ahead of time.
In a statement, she said in part:
'If the district was aware of a quorum issue, they had multiple opportunities to reschedule before posting the agenda on Friday and then canceling the meeting today.'
And Mark Holm told WCIA over the phone he had a pre-arranged business also told WCIA about his desire to get the newly voted-in board members sworn in as soon as possible.
'Clear the deck and get out of the way,' Holm said. 'There's five new ones. Let's swear them in.'
But Baker said the current sitting board has a responsibility to conclude business before the new members take their seats.
'The votes haven't been certified, so we can't even name the board members as we speak,' Baker said. 'And so this is absolutely a duty of this current board, and I'd like to finish that out.'
The election certification for the five new board members is scheduled for Tuesday. Once certified, the board will have until May 11th to swear in the new members. The next scheduled board meeting is April 28th.
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