OEA’s Review Board, a body mandated by our union’s bylaws, remains defunct and has not yet met to process complaints filed last school year for violations of the code of conduct.

The process to restart the Review Board has been stalled for over eight months. The OEA Executive Board approved appointments to the Review Board in December 2023, with Amara Schoenberg as chair. According to Schoenberg, the board cannot meet until the Executive Board approves its standing rules. This item has not been agendized for any Executive Board or Rep Council meetings, continuing the delay. The President of OEA sets the agenda in both meetings.

Under the OEA bylaws, the Review Board holds the judicial powers of the union. It should consist of seven members appointed for five-year terms. It is unclear the last time OEA has had a functioning Review Board, leaving our union without a space to handle internal conflicts.

OEA leadership must take immediate steps to end the delay so the Review Board can meet and resolve issues, including a serious case previously reported in the Rank and File Roundup: last year, when President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer accessed OEA member David Byrd’s personal address through the union’s database and visited his home at night accompanied by two unknown men.