At the last Board meeting, various public attendees expressed dismay, shock and frustration that a member on vacation was allowed to dial in remotely for just a part of the meeting and place votes on two issues. The solicitor’s advice was unclear as to whether it should be done but they went ahead and did it. The vote was to be crucial in pushing through Turf-the-Rocks.
Well, thanks to one of my readers for letting me know about an article in today’s Intelligencer. Centennial just faced a similar situation with a Board member wanting to vote remotely because he was in the hospital.
Well, that Board denied it. The member was allowed to phone in to listen but not to cast a vote. The District had a policy not allowing remote votes and their solicitor advised not to break it. This policy was enforced even though this vote was for a crucial matter in that District.
Our District policy states that votes are to be by members present, yet this somehow didn’t stand in the way at Council Rock.
Justifications were thrown out that this vote was for an important matter, or that it had been done a couple of times before. Bottom line was that our Board played fast and loose with the rules.
To read the article, you can click this link. Then you be the judge.
Filed under: Council Rock, Meetings, School Board, School Code, Sunshine Act, Vote by Phone | Tagged: Ethics, In Absentia, Meetings, Policies, Remote Participation, School Board, School Code, Sunshine Act, Vote by Phone
