Trust Workshops and Smoking Garbage Bags: Findlay School Board's Masterclass in Irony

In the theater of public education governance, Findlay City Schools has delivered what can only be described as avant-garde performance art: "Trust Workshop: The Musical." On April 17, Board member Chris Aldrich delivered the bureaucratic equivalent of "I found this mess when I got here" with such conviction that one half-expected him to be wearing rubber gloves and holding a mop.

"There's a trust issue and it's nothing that we've done," Aldrich declared. Nothing they've done— merely an unfortunate atmospheric condition, like discovering it's raining when you've left the car windows down.

This is the same Chris Aldrich who, following the FFE investigation, when replying back to me so quickly it was obvious he did not review the questions asked, said: "I fully support the decisions and actions of our Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and our Building Principal, and I am proud of the actions that they took to ensure the integrity of FFE." His pivoting from full-throated endorsement to complete disavowal suggests Aldrich believes Findlay residents don’t pay attention or are not smart enough to spot the contradiction. The assumption that citizens won't notice when you claim total innocence after publicly cheering on the very actions that eroded trust betrays a profound disregard for their intelligence.

Aldrich elaborated on this meteorological theory of trust: "Some of the past, you know, administrations and past board members have made decisions. And so there's a trust issue." The passive voice – their favorite invisibility cloak.

Let's review some of the "nothing" this blameless board has presided over:

• They transformed a routine public records request into a seven-month odyssey that required legal action.

• They presented an investigation timeline where interviews were apparently completed two days before the investigating agency knew what they were investigating.

• They reported investigation costs at $11,089 while legal invoices showed $24,462 in December alone – a discrepancy that makes most corporate accounting scandals look like rounding errors.

• And in a move that would make Soviet-era archivists proud, they seemingly deep-sixed former choir director Kevin Manley's rebuttal to the investigation report despite his explicit request that it "be attached to all copies" of the report.

But remember— none of this has anything to do with the current trust deficit.

Into this accountability avoidance therapy session stepped Abby Will, of Marathon, offering actually sensible advice about trust-building. The contrast was like watching someone demonstrate proper pool safety protocols to a group of pirates who've been making people walk the plank. As Will discussed "responsive feedback mechanisms," not a single board member mentioned their seven-month public information request stonewalling. When transparency was emphasized, no one cleared their throat to acknowledge the $13,000+ accounting discrepancy hanging in the air. These officials showed the selective hearing abilities of teenagers being reminded about chores.

What's truly remarkable is watching Aldrich simultaneously acknowledge a trust deficit while refusing to take any ownership. It's like watching someone complain about the terrible odor in a room while holding a smoking garbage bag behind their back.

The crown jewel came when Aldrich solemnly pronounced that trust-building "is gonna be taking multiple years" – as if community skepticism were some inherited genetic condition rather than the predictable result of their own administrative contortions. It's like setting fire to your neighbor's garden and then telling them growing roses takes patience.

With Superintendent Hatton's flowery editorial about "transparency" and "accountability" making the rounds, the Findlay Board of Education has suddenly developed a passionate interest in community relations that feels about as authentic as a three-dollar bill.

In the end, what was witnessed wasn't a trust workshop but an exercise in responsibility displacement – watching people trip over their own feet and then demand an investigation into sidewalk conditions. As the ancient proverb says: trust arrives on foot but leaves on horseback. In Findlay City Schools' Board's case, it appears to have left on a rocket, while the board stands around wondering who yelled "liftoff!"