At the last EMID Board meeting I pointed out to the board that the its Steering Committee meetings, which board chair Cristina Gillette had told me were open public meetings, had never been posted publicly. I noted how much of the board’s decision making was happening behind these closed doors and asked them to let the community know when these meetings were happening so we could observe the process.

Today I got a response from Interim Superintendent Robicheau: no. Here’s what he has to say:

After the last board meeting when allegations were made that our board acting in “secrecy” I asked our school attorney investigate what constitutes the requirement of the Open Meeting Law. I wanted to make sure we were in compliance with those requirements. Based on his opinion we are not required to post the Steering Committee meetings. His opinion, based on court rulings, is a) there is not a quorum of the board, and b) the committee is not making decisions and is only in discussion. All decisions are made at the open meeting of the board. Based on this we will continue past practice of not posting the Steering Committee meetings.

So we will not be told when and where the Steering Committee meets. However, this note does not say that we are not welcome in the room if we can determine when and where they meet. Chair Gillette did tell me we could be at the meeting, I wonder if that still holds true.

…Eric