A very public disagreement reaches a new level as two Clay County School Board Members going toe to toe.

In a public meeting Thursday night, Board Vice Chair Janice Kerekes blasted the soon to be incoming Superintendent for trying to get rid of the board's attorney.

She says board member Charles Van Zant has a personal vendetta against the attorney.

In a written statement Kerekes says she and others continue to support an appointed Superintendent and she promises to bring up the issue again at a future meeting.

Read the full statement from Kerekes: 

After a heated and contentious School Board meeting, which lasted for more than five hours, the Superintendent-elect's attempt to terminate the contract of the Board's attorney was ruled out of order by the Board Chairman, thereby saving us from another possible lawsuit.

I am pleased with the outcome. Our attorney will continue in his role and complete the remaining 14 months of his contract. Our attorney has always met or exceeded expectations on all of his written evaluations. He has been an invaluable resource for many years.

It has become obvious to me that the only factor involved behind this action was Mr. Van Zant's personal vendetta against our attorney and his desire to please a special-interest group.

Additionally, the majority of our speakers came out in support of an appointed Superintendent. Of the nine scheduled citizen speakers, six voiced their desire for accountability in our schools and called upon our School Board to appoint the Superintendent.

Passionate speakers represented both sides of the issue and tensions were high during the meeting. The School Board will address the issue of an appointed vs. elected Superintendent at a future meeting.