Saying she will not be “bullied into silence,” Bobbie Surber has asked that fellow school board member Zach Richardson be censured and investigated for a series of actions and statements that she contends has created a hostile work environment in the school district.

“I feel I have been targeted by Zach Richardson, our school board president, with unrelenting harassment in retaliation for my voting record, which includes voting against the two-principal model and West Sedona School, hiring of an underqualified administrator, closing of Big Park School, move of the junior high to the high school and the $18,000-plus raise for [Superintendent David] Lykins,” she said at the Tuesday, June 7, meeting of the Sedona Oak Creek Governing Board meeting.

Surber read from a prepared statement during the public comment section of the meeting.

The statement also made mention of charges arising from her arrest during an incident last month. [See “SOCSD member arrested” for details.]

Richardson, who is reportedly traveling outside the country, was not at the meeting. He could not be reached for comment.

Likewise, John Miller was absent, leaving only Surber, Karen McClelland and Tommy Stovall in attendance.

“I would support an investigation into Bobbie Surber’s unbecoming behavior before anything,” Stovall said the following day. “This seems to me an attempt by Ms. Surber to deflect attention from herself and perhaps her arrest.”

McClelland said she had no immediate comment.

In addition to retaliating against her for her voting record, Surber said Richardson has ignored her requests for agenda items and allegedly prompted people to file unfounded complaints against her with the Arizona Attorney General.

She further alleged that Richardson has harassed female board members and female employees of the school district, including former West Sedona School principal Lisa Hirsch, whose “dedicated service [was] publicly annihilated and eventually replaced … with a male employee with a fraction of her experience and education.”

She also claimed to have been called a “man hater,” “anti-Semitic” and a “homophobe.”

“It is my feeling that this has become a hostile work environment for employees and board members,” she said.

“This behavior will not stop until the board at large chooses to end this. The very least this board should do is censure Zach as unbecoming behavior of a board member. Karen McClelland, as board vice president needs to take over active duties as board president.”

Surber then called for Lykins to initiate a third-party investigation into the working conditions of the district and the behavior of the board members.

“We will only save our district by having the courage to speak up and deal with the elephant in the room vs. our continued behavior of putting our head in the sand hoping Zach calms down or goes away,” she said.

Surber’s statement to the board was triggered by an email exchange among Richardson, Heather Hermen, who is a candidate for the school board, and staff members of the Sedona Red Rock News.

It began May 27 with an email from a reporter to Richardson seeking comment on a rumor that he was going to resign from the board.

Richardson asked who had been spreading the rumor, but was told it was a couple of random individuals.

He responded by theorizing it was Hermen, then claimed that she and Surber, as well as NEWS managing editor Christopher Fox Graham had “tried to bully me off the board.”

He went on to say he has yet to decide how long he’ll stay on the board.

Hermen responded, “Zach — if I’ve ever bullied you or you felt bullied by me, I believe you would have contacted me about it. So, I’ll just dismiss it as email fluff and a possible touch of dramatic text.

“Honestly, I haven’t heard this rumor of you resigning and therefore wouldn’t be the voice of spreading it. Especially since you and I had a phone conversation a couple of weeks back about the future of the school board and the positive direction we can move in.”

Richardson also raised the issue of Surber’s arrest.

“Now since we are trying to dispel rumors.  We heard a rumor that the reason why Bobbie Surber’s arrest a few weeks ago did not make the paper was because she is or was romantically involved with [Graham]. I am sure if I was arrested, it would be all over the front page, so there must be some extenuating circumstances for the omission of reporting this arrest, if true.”

Both Surber and Graham denied any romantic relationship.

“Zachary Richardson’s allegation that Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board member Bobbie Surber is ‘romantically involved with’ me is a blatant untruth, made with malicious intent in an attempt to libel and defame both myself and … Surber,” Graham wrote.

Graham responded: “Police reports are handled by [Assistant Managing Editor] Ron Eland. There is a delay from the time of arrest to the time they appear in the police log book and thus, when we can report on them. The only way to not appear in a police report is to not get arrested.”

He also wholly rejected a purported rumor repeated by Richardson that Surber and he conspired to have former Sedona Police Chief Ray Cota fired because of the arrest.

According to city officials, Cota left last month by mutual agreement.

“I am flattered I now have the shocking power to arbitrarily fire city officials based on my whims; not even council members have such extraordinary powers,” Graham wrote.

“SOCSD’s taxpayers should be made aware how Governing Board members waste the school’s time and resources instead of focusing on students’ education.”