Columbus school board vice president Tina Pierce released a 19-minute phone call between herself and fellow board member Brandon Simmons in an attempt to distance herself from a controversial leaked memo on proposed school closings.
In a Facebook post on Monday that included the recorded phone call, Pierce also said Simmons should resign from the board.
Pierce wrote in her Facebook post that while she while she does "not wish to continue to feed Brandon Simmons’ distracting drama or engage in anything but the role of a Board member," she wrote she wanted to correct what she called misinformation that local media have reported.
A document that was leaked in May suggested ways to weaken the Columbus Education Association after the union reacted negatively to a district plan to close some school buildings.
Simmons helped create the document.
Simmons recently released phone calls between him, Pierce and board member Jennifer Adair that suggested he was not the only board member involved in creating the document.
Pierce wrote on Facebook that she had nothing to do with the memo and did not coach Simmons in writing it, and said the phone call Simmons released of the conversation between her and Simmons "was not a full recording."
She also wrote she did not advise Simmons to attack the Columbus Education Association in the memo.
She also wrote that Simmons refused to admit who authored the document with him.
Her Facebook post included a phone call with Simmons to back up her claims.
"I recorded a conversation on May 22, 2024, after I found out that Mr. Simmons' conversation was not completely truthful about who authored the document," Pierce wrote.
In the phone call, Pierce asked Simmons, "Who helped you draft this document? When you told me many, many people, many meetings, who helped you draft it?"
"We should not have this conversation now," Simmons replied.
Pierce said she understood that no one was talking to the press at that point.
Simmons said he had to think about what is best for the board and for himself individually. "There are seven people, nobody seems to trust each other," Simmons said of the board.
Pierce then went back to ask Simmons who helped him draft the document.
"At this point, you have a community saying who helped you draft this document? You have a community saying who was in that meeting?" Pierce said. "You have a community saying why was trust breached?"
In the recording, Pierce asked Simmons other times who helped him draft the document. "Because Brandon, from every indication and every person involved, you created and drafted and wrote and brought in that document. But you said many people, many meetings. Do you have a many," Pierce said on the recording.
I'm not supposed to release anything additional," Simmons said.
"Brandon, this is me and you," Pierce said. Do you have a many?"
"I always have something in my back pocket," Simmons said.
Toward the end of the call, Pierce once again asks Simmons if he has a "many." Simmons said yes. But then he asks Pierce not to question him as to who it is.
