Protestors, parents, students, and concerned community members have come together around a shared issue: board member Todd Albright and his recent actions.

From the view of his house, Albright reported to the school district that he was witnessing dress code violations of students on their way home from school. The district assured him that the dress code was under control, but he was not satisfied with this response. On August 31, Albright brought the superintendent and middle and high school principals off-campus to the corner of Allynd Drive and North Street to watch for and point out students he believed were wearing “inappropriate clothing.”

As far as the high school administrators, they have been vocally supportive of the students.

“I will always be there to defend you,” said Chardon High School principal, Douglas Murray. 

As expressed by Murray and the board, he was only with Albright per the request of the superintendent and the request of Albright.

“It seems as dress code is being turned into a mountain out of things that aren’t news,” said Murray.

Within the next week, the news and outrage spread across the district through various social media outlets. Sophomore Devney Rich organized a silent protest in front of Albright’s house on September 19.

“I have four daughters within the school system. I’m teaching them to stand up against injustice,” said protestor Halli Mansfield. “It’s a misuse of power.” 

According to eyewitnesses, nearly forty people showed up to the protest. Local police were on site to ensure that everything went smoothly.

“This is my daughter and I will not just roll over,” said Jillian Beahon, a protestor. 

Her focus was on other school members who have used what she believes to be inappropriate and offensive language toward her daughter regarding what she wears to school every day. The district told her that it is under investigation.

On the evening of September 19, the protestors marched down the street to Chardon Middle School as the monthly Chardon Board of Education Meeting was beginning. In this meeting, the board looked back on Albright supervising the dress code, his recent Youtube video, his posts on Facebook, and his comments at a city council meeting.

Karen Blankenship, president of the school board, broke down specific parts of his video and the violations that he committed.

“Not only did the district conduct an internal investigation, the information was reported to job and family services to do their investigation because he accused a staff member of what could be a criminal act resulting in charges of a misdemeanor or even a felony. The district takes these accusations seriously. The fact that Mr. Albright had this information and never reported it to JFS or to the superintendent may constitute a violation of ORC 2151.421 Reporting child abuse or neglect,” Blankenship said. 

In his video, Albright claimed that “pornographic” material was being taught in an English class. 

Albright also talked about a book he claimed was being taught. “The third complaint, regarding a specific book (All Boys Aren’t Blue), cannot be further reviewed because, despite the specificity of Mr. Albright’s complaint, the specific book is not available to Chardon students through the Chardon Local School district curriculum or resources. Additionally, teachers have not taught, presented, nor recommended that book during the 2022-23 school year,” said Blankenship.

Blankenship’s report also mentioned that Albright discussed board information at the city council meeting without the permission of the Chardon Board of Education. He claimed to be acting as a private citizen.

In response to the dress code, Blankenship said, “As I mentioned earlier the board creates and approves policies, but it is up to the superintendent and administrators to enforce the policies.”

This is the official resolution of the meeting regarding Albright’s actions. “The Board hereby formally censures Mr. Albright for having engaged in the above-described conduct in violation of Board bylaw, policy, and procedure, and in violation of Mr. Albright’s obligations as a member of this Board and respectfully requests that Mr. Albright cease and desist from any further conduct of a similar nature so that Board members, administrators, and staff may continue to work together in an environment of mutual respect and trust for the betterment of our schools and our community,” said Blankenship. 

The board also requested that Albright attends professional development classes focused on being a board member. This was received with a standing ovation from the audience.

Keith Brewster, a board member, also gave a speech with some other key points. He commented on how Albright replied to comments on his Facebook page.

“At the end of this reply, he also includes a picture of Adolph Hitler posing with a child, one of the Hitler Youth he mentions. For Mr. Albright to draw a comparison between our schools and the actions of this despicable monster, and to further state that we are indoctrinating children in a similar manner is disgusting and abhorrent,” said Brewster.

Following the decisions and resolutions of the meeting, the public was permitted to speak. Both supporters of the board member and citizens in opposition came to the podium to speak.

One speaker said, “We will continue to make complaints if that’s what’s necessary.” She supported the claim that dress code violations are a serious problem in school.

“He actually claimed that the dress code is in place to protect the teachers. He explained that, in his view, a female educator could be triggered by another woman’s clothing because of her own previous sexual assault. The only way a woman would associate clothing with her own sexual assault would be if someone made her feel as though her own clothing is the cause of her sexual assault. Is that the message we should be sending our young girls? Our female students? They better abide by the school dress code policy or else they run the risk of being sexually assaulted?” said another speaker. “I am asking him to step down and allow those who do care about public education to do their job.”

Her remarks came from comments Albright made in a recent interview on Rover’s Morning Glory. 

Shauna Rich, a protestor, took to the stage and said, “It’s a victim-blaming mindset and no one deserves or invites sexual assault.” She later said, “I would like to encourage the board to continue or work on building bridges within the community and not to be the ones to light the matches that are burning them.”

A community member with a different view came to speak. He said, “There’s not a lot of problems in Chardon.” His view was that there is no reason that the dress code should be getting so much public attention.

Mr. Albright has declined to be interviewed following the board meeting.