Act 2: ‘Spelling Bee’ Returns to Cardinal’s Stage W/VIDEO
February 8, 2023 by Ann Wishart

School Board Reverses Decision to Cancel Spring Musical

The show will go on. Cardinal Schools Board of Education reversed its decision to cancel “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at its Feb. 8 board meeting.

The show will go on.

Cardinal Schools Board of Education reversed its decision to cancel “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at its Feb. 8 board meeting.

In front of nearly 200 students, parents and concerned residents in the Cardinal High School cafeteria, board President Linda Smallwood read a brief statement explaining the conditions under which the board had summarily canceled the musical it deemed “not family friendly.”

“Cardinal board policy does not require board approval of specific productions chosen by the performing arts department, but the board is, nonetheless, required to uphold standards set by board policy for the common good of all students in the school district,” Smallwood said. “Cardinal’s chain of communication with the performing arts department is such that the board had no knowledge of the specific, controversial spring musical production chosen by the Cardinal music director until the board received the first complaint about the musical on Jan. 11, 2023.

“Initially, the board was informed that the script could not be revised, but that changed when Music Theatre International, the publishing company, contacted the Cardinal theater department to confirm revisions could be made, with the help of their authors,” she continued. “At this time, the board wishes to thank Music Theatre International and its authors for assisting the Cardinal board and music director with the 23 requested revisions required to create a script that finally complies with the Cardinal board policy.”

Production will resume immediately, she said, with performances scheduled as before for March 10, 11 and 12 at the Cardinal Middle School cafetorium.

When Smallwood asked the board whether there was consensus in favor of her statement, no negative responses were audible and no formal vote was taken, but “yes” was heard from most board members.

After the meeting, Smallwood said if the board had not shown consensus for her statement, she had a second statement ready that would have upheld the cancelation.

Board legal counsel Dan McIntyre sat to her right.

The decision was met with applause and cheers from the crowd.

Parkman Township resident Joyce Peters spoke first during the public comment portion of the meeting. She thanked the board for its decision but took them to task for not following any of the four board policies she said would have applied.

Peters also objected to the board canceling the musical in executive session.

“The executive session on January 25 has some problems with regard to open meetings and executive session rules. According to the (Ohio Revised Code), topics discussed in executive session are limited and the high school musical is not one of them,” she said. “Furthermore, decisions are not permitted in executive session. All such deliberations are to take place in public. Lastly, the board needs to be accountable for its kneejerk reaction to unverified information combined with their own personal agendas when making poor decisions on the fly.

“Cardinal Schools has been humiliated in our district, our county, our state, our country and also internationally due to this fiasco. It is time to get right with the world around us.  To embrace diversity, open-mindedness and kindness,” she continued. “Do you know how many kids there are who relate to the characters in this musical? Do you know how many kids in the community contemplate suicide because of their feelings of exclusion? Do you even realize that this musical takes these issues and has the characters resolve them for themselves in a positive way? I am just one of hundreds if not thousands of Cardinal community employees, former employees, students and former students and people who want this district to come into the world as it is now.”

Joyce charged the board with establishing a citizen’s advisory committee to address similar situations in the future.

“I call upon this board to use its own Policy 9140 to set up a citizen’s advisory committee to study the processes already in place regarding censorship, free speech, citizen complaints, controversial issues, and the right to free expression and due process afforded in our current policies,” she said. “Also, I call upon this board to use its own Policy 9140 to set up a citizen’s advisory committee to study the issue of alienated students and save students’ lives in our own little corner of the world. I ask that this board extend an apology to (director Vanessa) Allen, who followed the process according to all previous practices and did not deserve criticism. The students who have suffered such heartbreak for the past two weeks deserve your apologies, as well.”

More than a dozen people took the podium to address Peters’ points and to thank the board for its decision to allow the musical to continue. Several emphasized why “Spelling Bee” is especially appropriate for the times and applicable to today’s youth.

Megan Baril, of Parkman, said the musical is more complex than other, less controversial productions.

Because of that, it will help them grow as actors and singers, she said.

Michael Lewis, of Huntsburg Township, said the district failed to communicate the cancelation to the cast and stage crew, who arrived for practice one cold wet night and found the doors locked.

“The lack of information given to my family … was an absolute disgrace,” he said. “You did not treat the kids in the way they should have been treated. You owe them an apology.”

One speaker said there was tremendous community support for “Spelling Bee” to go on, including a petition that gathered 3,266 signatures.

Freshman Emma Clinger, who plays a main character in the musical, said she didn’t understand why this particular musical was canceled when the theater department had produced “The Addams Family” musical, which has also been rated PG-13, with no changes to the script.

One mother said she felt the school might be overstepping her parenting authority but she was more comfortable since modifications were made to the script.