SYLVANIA, Ohio — An unexpected turn of events kicked off the first Sylvania Schools Board of Education meeting on Monday.
As the board went on record looking for nominations for president, board member Shannon Szyperski abruptly announced she was resigning. Szyperski stood, dropped a set of keys on the table, gathered her coat and left the stage.
The board meeting continued without her.
WTOL called Szyperski for comment. She did not want to answer questions and instead directed us to a Facebook post she made following her departure, explaining her reasons for resigning from the board.
The lengthy post totals over 1,100 words and describes her three years on the board as "hellish."
"So, why today? Why walk away today? Well, today was the culmination of three hellish years. Today was just the last straw. When I started on the board, after people stopped yelling at me, I was told there was an officer rotation. I was told that when my child graduated I would be president of the board and get to give the graduation speech," wrote Syzperski, in part. "I patiently waited to take my position as vice president last year in preparation to be president this year, the year my oldest graduates. I found out not long before last year’s organizational meeting that I was not being made an officer.
"The deciding vote decided that we needed more experience because we were hiring a new superintendent, but publicly promised to nominate me for president this year. It didn’t feel good and it didn’t make sense. I wouldn’t do that to anyone. Still, I ultimately accepted the outcome. Fast forward to this past Friday and I found out that I was again being passed over. Promise broken."
Throughout the post, Syzperski mentioned widespread dislike from the moment she joined the board. "Not making someone president is basically just the other board members’ way of saying they don’t like you," claimed Syzperski in the post.
She closes by saying, "This district can be excellent once again and I have faith that one day it will be."
Syzperski's full statement is available on her Facebook page.
WTOL reached out to other board members for comment. As of this writing, we have not received a response.