POPLAR RIDGE - Contention was the major theme of the Southern Cayuga Central School District Board of Education reorganization meeting Monday.

Throughout a tumultuous three-hour reorganizational meeting - the regular board meeting was not called to order until after 10 p.m. - board members voiced concerns of respect and support in the hope that clearing the air would lead to a successful year.

The meeting was also marked with a contended race for board president. Four board members, including newcomer Joe Lonsky, agreed that with a new year comes a new board president, and thus elected Leonard Jordan to the top leadership position instead of Ted Rejman, who has held the position for three years, by a 4-3 vote.

Rejman, Teresa Lipfert and Steve Morse dissented.

The board will also have a new vice president, as past vice president Michelle Dean was not re-elected to the board in May.

In a 6-1 vote, Dean Winspear was elected vice president with Rejman dissenting.

Prior to the vote, Rejman and Lipfert articulated their disappointment with board members' recent behavior and a strong desire to see the whole board work together in a more respectful manner.

“I can't honestly sit on this board and continue to do so and have disrespectful remarks made,” Rejman said. “I can't do it. In fact, I won't do it. ...

“We can agree to disagree, but we don't need to point fingers,” he later added. “We don't need to allege. We don't need to accuse. We need to work together. We need to talk it out, get to a resolution. Maybe we won't do it that night. Maybe we'll do it another night, but you got to get there. Set the tone for the district. ...

“I don't know about you guys, but I've spent a lot of time these last three years making sure we move the district along. We're on the verge of doing very big things. Almost there. ... But we're going to do it respectfully. We're going to do it in a way that sets the tone for this whole BOCES, because it's about time a district spoke up and said 'It needs to change.' So we're going to do it right.”

Lipfert listed a litany of things she's seen in the past, including bullying and pointing fingers, and asked for that to end.

Much of the contention originated in the last meeting held on June 30 over the role of the audit committee. Tempers flared and voices raised over whether the audit committee should audit all financial documents, including the warrants.

Tempers cooled by the end of Monday's meeting, when board members said they supported each other in the pursuit of better education. In their roles as president and vice president, Jordan and Winspear both agreed that meetings will run in a respectful manner.

Morse, Rejman and Lipfert said they would support Jordan as president despite their dissent, as did Rejman for Winspear.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net