DACC board takes no action at Special Meeting
Oct. 5—No action was taken regarding the fate of Dr. Stephen Nacco's job after a special meeting of Danville Area Community College's Board of Trustees on Thursday.
After listening to public comments, the board went into a closed session to "discuss matters pertaining to the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body."
On Sept. 16, Nacco was placed on administrative leave following the board's investigation into an incident between Nacco and Danville Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr. following a Vermilion Advantage Board Meeting in early September.
According to Williams, the two disagreed over whether Nacco was attempting to bring undocumented immigrants to the city. During the disagreement, Williams says Nacco called him "boy" with racist intent. Nacco has insisted he only meant to refer to Williams' younger age and said he felt threatened, claiming he thought Williams might hit him.
During the public comments section Thursday, area resident Deonta Brooks called for members of the board, who are also city employees, to refrain from voting on issues that pertain to Williams to avoid a conflict of interest.
"I hope that in going forward since this has become a city issue mixed in with the college, anybody who does business with the city or works for the city will be willing to recuse themselves from any decisions made involving the college that also involve the mayor," Brooks said.
Brooks closed his statement by saying it would be "deeply disturbing" if decisions regarding someone's career at DACC were made by people who report to the mayor.
When asked to clarify, Brooks told the Commercial-News that he was referring to board member Sandra Finch, who is the Human Resources Administrator for the City of Danville and that he worried about the possibility of city employees voting in fear of retaliation, such as the loss of their jobs.
Retired DACC communications professor Dr. Jamie Berthel also addressed the board, speaking on behalf of Nacco. Berthel said Nacco and his wife Cindy are "civic-minded citizens who have done a great deal to contribute to the welfare of our community" and insisted that neither Nacco nor his wife is "any variety of a racist of any stripe."
Berthel also spoke of moments in DACC history when Nacco fought on behalf of the Black community, including a time he worked to have "Black Lives Matter" placed on the marquee in front of the college. Berthel said Nacco was forced to alter the wording due to backlash in the community and pushback from the college.
Having taught rhetoric classes — the art of persuasive writing and speaking — Berthel suggested that the argument between Nacco and Williams shouldn't have been investigated at all, calling it a matter of "sticks and stones."
"It's not uncommon for people to scrap with each other in the public forum, in the town hall, and where others can hear them," Berthel said. "I sort of see this situation as a sticks and stones kind of rhetorical situation where people have yanked each other's chains."
Berthel went on to say the situation "was never really worthy of an investigation by (the board)" and saw Nacco's words as something "dismissable."
The next regular meeting of the board of trustees will occur on Thursday, Oct. 24.
