The Colonial School District Board is asking a school board member accused of child sexual abuse to step down.
Ronnie Williams was arrested on charges of sexual abuse involving three juveniles late last month. He remains an elected member of the Colonial School Board.
The rest of the board unanimously passed a motion Tuesday asking Williams to resign.
Neither the district nor the school board can remove Williams from his position. Under state law, the Governor can remove him if he is convicted. Delaware's constitution states that "the Governor shall remove from office any public officer convicted of misbehavior in office or of any infamous crime."
“At this point our hands are tied,” said Colonial School District spokesperson Lauren Wilson. “We are bound by the law.”
Spokesperson Jonathan Starkey says as far as the Governor's office understands, Gov. Carney lacks the "unilateral authority" to remove elected officials from their positions unless they have been convicted.
"That said, our legal team is continuing to explore any options the Governor may have in this circumstance," he said in a statement. "Clearly, the Governor is extremely disturbed by these allegations."
School board member Leo Magee Sr. says he raised Tuesday’s motion, adding that the case is “taking too much attention away” from other matters.
Magee says he has one child and two grandchildren in the Colonial School District. He called the allegations against Williams “disgusting” and “upsetting.”
Wilson says the District supports the school board’s motion. “This is a very difficult time for the District, and we felt that asking Mr. Williams to resign would be in the best interest of not only the school district but the children," she said. “We want to focus on their education rather than this case.”
Both Wilson and Magee say they support planned efforts by State Rep. Paul Baumbach to create a mechanism for school board members to be removed if necessary.
“We fully support any actions that can be taken, because clearly this is a loophole that needs to be tied,” said Wilson.
