Forest Hills Board of Education Vice President Katie Stewart has moved out of the school district and resigned from the school Board.
Board President Bob Bibb on Wednesday announced her resignation in a message to staff and district families. He praised Stewart for her work on the Board.
"I want to thank Mrs. Stewart for more than three years of service to our school district in her role as a member of the Board of Education and for her dedication and commitment to this community," Bibb wrote.
Stewart was elected to the Forest Hills Board of Education in 2021 and ran on an anti-critical race theory platform along with three other conservative candidates, who also won seats.
During her three years on the Board, Stewart was involved in several politically charged battles and made attempts to introduce a policy in the district banning transgender students from using the bathroom that aligned with their gender identity.
Three weeks ago — at what ended up being her last Board meeting — Stewart had several heated exchanges with parents and community members in attendance.
The Board of Education voted 3-2 to approve a social studies course of study for the district. Stewart and fellow Board member Sara Jonas voted against it, citing issues with a textbook that wasn't included in the proposed list of textbooks being voted on.
Stewart and Jonas took issue with a section of a book not being considered by the school Board that was critical of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and mentioned several scandals he was involved in.
"Where my kids go to school, they don't teach propaganda," Stewart told members of the audience who began shouting at her.
Stewart told Fox News in 2021 she pulled her kids out of school and began homeschooling them during the pandemic.
Her final action as a Forest Hills Board of Education member was a vote to not renew the contract of the district's treasurer Alana Cropper, who was hired in 2018. The motion was approved by a 3-2 vote with members Jason Simmons and Wendy Strickler voting against it.
Stewart, Bibb, and Jonas all voted to not renew Cropper's contract, but did not want to discuss why they voted that way. Simmons told the audience the three members had accused the treasurer behind closed doors of mismanaging funds without evidence.
When audience members objected to the vote, Stewart gave this response:
"Do you think I care about what any of you have to say?" Stewart told the crowd. "I do not work for you. I was elected to do a job based on what I think is the correct answer. It is not my job to do what you individually say. Nice try."
Those were her last comments as a member of the Board. The school Board will now appoint a new member to take her place.
Read more:
