Community Contests IC Closure

Meeting reveals disagreement among BOE members about decision

Emma Barker, Policy Reporter | April 18, 2026

Christopher Moody speaks about the closure of the IC during the Board of Education meeting public comment period April 14 in the small auditorium.

Emotions about the closing of the Innovative Center ran so high during the April 14 Board of Education meeting that it had to recess.

Seventeen people gave a public comment. The speakers comprised four students, two alumni, nine parents, one previous IC teacher and one community member. A letter, submitted by an alumnus, was also read. All comments were related to the closure of the Innovative Center.

On March 17, the district notified students that the program would end after the 2025-26 school year. The district’s decision to cut the program came after months of uncertainty surrounding its future.

The Innovative Center operates as a micro school within the high school. It serves students who are seeking an alternate high school experience outside of the main campus and is located on the lower level of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Building at 3450 Lee Road. According to shaker.org, students who attend the IC can choose “when, where, how and what they learn” as they work toward graduation and post-secondary goals.

Donald Carrier, a parent of a student who attends the IC, said the low enrollment of the IC was not due to low demand, but inequitable access. “I’ve read also your IC closure analysis; it does not reveal a failing program. It reveals a failure of access, transparency and equity,” he said. “You are saying plainly that because these students require more, they will now receive less.”

Junior Anna Maier said the unique safe space the IC built is needed for incoming students and many will be lost without it. “This place, this community, this program, needs to stay open for the future generations who don’t know who they are. Who feel lost within themselves,” Maier said. “[They] need a space that loves them, accepts them and wants them to be passionate about learning.”

Senior Evie Macklin said the IC set her up for success in the future, and should continue preparing other students as well. “I plan to attend Brown University next year and I truly believe that the IC gave me the launchpad to do so,” she said.

Speakers also highlighted the decision not to hire another IC assistant principal when Isaiah Wyatt was named interim high school principal in November 2024 after serving as assistant principal of the IC since August 2023.

Macklin said that over the past year, the lack of a dedicated administrator affected the program. “While the IC needs to continue on and change the lives of many more students, it also needs a serious change itself. It needs to return to how it was under the administration that was dedicated to the IC,” she said.

Senior Treasure Vinson said the IC taught her lessons that wouldn’t be explored in a regular classroom. “If I hadn’t come to the IC, I wouldn’t have been the woman that I am today,” she said. “I have learned so much not only about myself, but about how a community is, how it functions and what a leader is supposed to be.”

According to the district’s Educational Equity Policy, “It is the belief of the Board that all students deserve to be academically challenged in a safe and supportive learning environment in which they feel a sense of belonging.” Carrier said this belief was true at the IC. He said that by taking away that space, the district is taking away the inclusion they promise to all students. “Instead of strengthening support,” he said, “you are removing the environment designed to hold these students. That is not equity; that is exclusion.”

Richard Mears, a parent of a student who graduated from the IC in 2023, said the IC saved his child’s life and that the district should be embarrassed by their decision to close it. “I am the father of four kids today. I would be the father of three kids today if the IC did not exist,” he said. “You should be ashamed at what you’re doing right now.”

While the public comment period is normally 30 minutes, Board of Education President Doug Wang allotted 60 minutes due to “an unusually large number of people who wanted to speak,” he said.

Speakers must register by the day before BOE meetings to participate in public comment. Two registered speakers gave up their time to people who had not registered. Tension grew among community members in the audience who had not registered and were not given the opportunity to speak. Public comment lasted 53 minutes.

Despite the end of the comment period, several community members spoke out. One questioned the district’s financial decisions leading up to the closure of the IC. “Why are you cutting a program and giving [the superintendent] a great, big raise? You’re endangering children,” they said.

Wang attempted to quell the outbursts. “This is a business meeting. We have a presentation. Folks, if you can’t listen quietly, then I’m going to ask you to leave,” he said. The meeting continued.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Felicia Evans, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. John Moore, Wyatt and Assistant Principal Katie Slifkin were then called to the table to make a presentation about the IC. Evans said that while the panel had prepared a formal slide deck, they had decided to open the floor instead to any questions the Board may have about the IC.

BOE Member Pam Scott shares her thoughts on holding a vote to keep the IC open. (Emma Barker)

Board of Education Member Pam Scott made it clear that she did not agree with the decision to ask the panel to provide the Board with an IC update. Scott said she had asked before the meeting that the Board engage in a discussion about the decision after public comment. “I think it’s cruel to have them sit up here and try to defend something when I asked for a discussion,” Scott said. “[The administrators] just found this out last night.”

Scott then moved to hold a vote. “I would like to move that we put this on a voting schedule as to whether we’re going to leave the IC open and to instruct the superintendent to leave the IC open,” she said. “If the board does not feel like we need to listen to the community, and listen to all these great stories, passionate students, and we want to move forward with this plan, then we move forward with this plan.”

The audience responded with heavy applause. Community members stood to show their support for Scott’s request. “If my son had this program, [he] would have been more successful,” Scott said. “Just because you don’t hear from Black families right now does not mean that Black families do not have the same issues with access. I’m moving to put [the IC closure] at a halt so that we can instruct the superintendent to leave the IC open.”

Silence followed. None of the other board members responded. After approximately 10 seconds of silence, Wang denied the motion “for lack of a second,” he said.

Community members immediately stood up in opposition. Others shook their heads in disbelief. Shocked gasps spread throughout the room. Wang’s attempts to settle the audience were met with increased protest. Some parents screamed. People resisted security efforts to escort them from the small auditorium. Wang ordered a 10-minute recess. The small auditorium was eventually cleared, but anguished screams could be heard outside the doors.

What started as a prodecural move became more than 15 minutes of crying and shouting about the fate of the IC.

Post-Meeting Thoughts

IC science teacher Anne Scott said everyone at the meeting was disappointed in the board. “Parents, adults, whomever they were, were very frustrated that no one seconded the motion. Pam Scott really stood up for teachers and families. I left feeling like she was really listening. She was really pushing the most,” she said.

Junior Finnegan Moody, who attended, but did not speak at the meeting, said he is disappointed in the district’s poor communication. “The lack of transparency and honesty from the SHCSD administration regarding student recruiting and enrollment at the IC is incredibly disappointing,” he said. Moody said the community’s comments that night were powerful and strongly impacted him. “It was deeply moving to hear the stories of families and students at the IC,” he said.

Anne Scott said she was moved by the community turnout of the meeting. Said Scott, “It was just incredible how many people showed up. Even people who did not speak were there to support the IC, and that was a really cool thing to see. And I hope the board and administration saw it”