Fans of the HBO series The Sopranos know what the term “flipped” means. No, it does not mean one has lost their mind. It means they have changed their mind and allegiance and are selling out “the family.” Speculation is growing that SLPS Board of Education president Veronica O’Brien has indeed been flipped. While gangsters fear their brothers – or wives or girlfriends – will be flipped by the FBI or other law enforcement officials, it seems that somebody somewhere got to O’Brien and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Her inexplicable turn on Superintendent Diana Bourisaw seems suspect, seeing that (with help from Bill Purdy, Peter Downs and Donna Jones), she engineered Creg Williams’ abrupt ouster, Bourisaw’s instant hiring and the removal of “interim” from her title. Maybe O’Brien realized she was ruining her future in some circles she will wish to travel in long after her tenure on the board. Maybe somebody offered her something if she suddenly sided with those favoring a state takeover. Something or someone other than Bourisaw changed O’Brien’s mind – and inquiring minds are trying to find out who or what that is.