Renshaw fills Stacey vacancy, joins Ash Grove Board of Ed.

Stacey airs grievances in letter of resignation
 
A new member has been added to the Ash Grove Board of Education following a 6-0 vote by the current board at the body’s Dec. 17 meeting. Rachel Renshaw was voted into the vacant seat, which was followed by her swearing in by longtime board secretary Linlley Belker.
Renshaw fills the vacancy left by former member Cody Stacey, who resigned in November. Renshaw will serve the remainder of the term which will end in April 2027.  

Stacey departure
Stacey departed prior to last month’s meeting with a letter of resignation, sent to board president Amanda Reece and district Superintendent Shane Medlin. Reece announced during the meeting that Stacey was leaving for personal reasons and did not read his letter of resignation aloud. In prior months, when former member David Alborn vacated his seat, his letter of resignation was read publicly. Not so with Stacey’s letter.
“Mr. Stacey’s letter was emailed to Mrs. Reece and myself without any specified greeting or designation for all,” Medlin said. “Mr. Alborn emailed his letter to the entire board and addressed it to all. Accepting his resignation and not reading the letter was simply out of respect for Mr. Stacey since he did not address it for everyone.”
Stacey’s letter of resignation can be found in full at the end of this article.
Stacey displeased with board
During his partial term on the board, Stacey grew disgruntled with certain board actions. Eventually making his presence on the board untenable.
“There are things in the letter that have not been corrected and it is a major frustration for me and I think part of the public would agree with me,” Stacey said in an interview. “I do want to reiterate that I think Dr. Medlin is doing a great job. I have a problem with part of the board. We have a problem in this district of the buddy system. I knew it was there but didn’t realize how involved it was. … I was hoping we could all get there and do the right thing for the right reasons but I found out … that is not the way that works. That was a major frustration for me to see policy broken multiple times, and a few times prior to that. I don’t want to get into details. I just wish everybody could’ve been there for the right reason, for the sole purpose of making life better for the kids down there. And, I guess leave all the self-centeredness and agendas. … I just wasn’t raised that way.”
Stacey added that he saw an imbalance among extra curricular activities.
“Every club, other than sports, gets treated differently. They get the short end of the stick,” Stacey said. “Clubs have to fight with sports for time and money.”
Medlin addresses Stacey issue
In a statement after Stacey’s resignation, Medlin expressed appreciation for Stacey’s time on the board.
“Community service positions like the school board are difficult and often thankless roles,” Medlin said. “I appreciate Mr. Stacey’s investment and working alongside him the past 18 months as a part of the School Board, the Long Range Planning Committee and the Proposition Pirates No-Tax Increase Bond initiative. Mr. Stacey holds strong convictions for our students, staff and school system. He worked hard to advocate for student needs and the betterment of the district. In addition to passing Proposition Pirates, the district was able to purchase property to support our district’s growth and expand the Agriculture Program by adding a second teacher during his time on the board. I am thankful for Mr. Stacey, the board and the Ash Grove community for their support providing for our district’s needs as we get ready to break ground on our bond project in January.”
Stacey’s letter of resignation follows:
I have been questioning my role on the b.o.e. and I’ve come to the conclusion that my role isn’t what i thought it would be. The way the district does business and how it presents itself to the community and parents has not set well with me for quite sometime. I have struggled to come to terms with this.The environment that my kids are subjected to by staff and administration on some occasions are substandard to say the least and as a parent I need to look out for their best interest. As a big supporter of Ag, I feel most of the board, especially the staff and admin does not support our Ag department as they should. This is a huge concern for me and it should also concern the community. So as of 11/18/2025 I am resigning from the b.o.e. effective immediately.  I appreciate the opportunity that the community gave me to help the district and I feel I’ve made a few good decisions and I’m proud of those few accomplishments.