Phoning it in, again
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 1, 2015 2:03 PM
Full Size
News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Dr. Dwight Cannon Skypes into a school board work session on Tuesday morning from his home in New Jersey.
The pastor on the school board whose spotty attendance record over the past 14 months has come under fire recently, took the bully pulpit after a called work session Tuesday, blasting his "distractors" and sending a message of his own -- he shall not be moved.
Dr. Dwight Cannon, District 2 representative, continued his absentee roll this week, Skyping in for the all-day session.
When the meeting was called to order, he could be seen on a laptop screen.
As the session unfolded, however, he did not participate in the discussion and was noticeably absent. The camera appeared to be positioned on a wall in his home or office, presumably in Burlington, N.J., where he lives, pastors a church and works as a substitute teacher for a school district.
Only later in the meeting did he reappear and interject a few comments.
The technology option proved disruptive at times, especially when the signal was lost and loud "beeps" could be heard followed by the sound of dialing as the connection was re-established.
The audio quality also presented problems as Cannon's remarks were often garbled or faded in and out.
After a five-hour session, plus nearly two hours in closed session, though, his intentions with the board came through loud and clear.
Reading from a prepared statement, which he said he had "practiced" in hopes of appearing calm, he said he has taken the responsibility of being a board member "very seriously," just as he does his ministry.
He maintained his biggest obstacle has been in scheduling. When given advance notice, he said he has readily complied.
"There's no date that can be set, that I cannot be present if I know, if I know in time," he said. "But I cannot willy nilly, after making obligations and commitments elsewhere, all of a sudden change my agenda," he said. "No more than if I had a job in Wilson, North Carolina or if I had a job at (Seymour Johnson)."
He said he felt he was often "told" about meetings rather than being asked.
The pastor also took issue with the scheduling of a meeting, specifically interviews set up today and Friday for candidates for the superintendent job. With the latter being Good Friday, considered a holy day in the Christian faith, he said that was something he was not willing to compromise on, and therefore would not be attending.
Cannon indicated he would be available for today's session. Director of Communication Services Ken Derksen said he was setting up FaceTime for Cannon's benefit.
Cannon has not physically attended a meeting since February, with the exception of a policy committee meeting last week, Derksen said.
That fact did not appear to slow Cannon down, as he announced to the board late Tuesday afternoon.
"I can resign at any time I please, but I wouldn't give my distractors the satisfaction of resigning because I came in having a purpose and that purpose was to do something for Wayne County and do something for the betterment of all children," he said. "And that's why I'm here and I'm going to stick it out to the end and it's going to take an act of Congress or whatever else it takes to make me leave this board.
"I'm going to do my job. I'm going to do what I'm supposed to it. I take it very seriously."