Attendees at the April 5 Wyandotte Public Schools special board meeting react with enthusiasm upon learning that the trustees accepted Supt. Catherine Cost’s resignation.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – School Board President Cindy Kinney’s announcement that the trustees had accepted Supt. Catherine Cost’s resignation was met with enthusiasm following the first of two closed session meetings of the board.
The separation agreement and resignation, effective April 5, passed unanimously.
The board then went into a second closed session and returned to engage its current legal team to address the Washington School 5G cell tower contract with T-Mobile.
Kinney said she wants to be transparent with the parent group, but said the legal team has advised the trustees that they should not comment on the T-Mobile contract at this time.
Cost had come under fire for contracting with T-Mobile to place a 5G cell tower atop Washington Elementary School for 30 years for $1,000 a month, as well as for her contentious interactions with parents protesting the possible health risks to their children.
With Cost’s resignation, the parents protesting the cell tower will likely redouble their efforts to find a way to terminate the contract with T-Mobile and to prevent the tower, which has already been installed, from being activated. The group hopes to see the tower dismantled from the roof and the ground level back-up generator removed from the school playground.
Cell tower protest organizer and Washington Elementary School parent Alexandra Cotner (left) speaks during the April 5 Wyandotte Public Schools special board meeting as Trustees Frank Tarnowski and Carrie Martinez listen.
Parent protest organizer Alexandra Cotner thanked the board for its decision.
“I am really excited and hopeful that I can keep my child in this district and I can continue to live in this city that I have grown to love so much,” she said. “I am really hopeful that maybe the communication can become a little bit more transparent, and maybe a little bit more of it, when you are allowed to talk to us.”
Parent organizer and lawyer Josh Castmore thanked the board for listening to the protestors, but cautioned them against using the same legal team the board currently uses.
“This is the same law firm that negotiated this deal,” he said. “If they are telling you guys that this is going to cost millions of dollars to take down, I would suggest seeking new counsel.”
Castmore said the meeting April 5 was a big step in the right direction.
“We stand with you guys,” he said to the board. “We want to get this done.”