Rogers City school board reviews Open Meetings Act policies
Rogers City Area Schools Board of Education Trustee Armand Loiselle raised a policy issue at Monday?s meeting of the board concerning the attendance of board members at public meetings conducted by standing committees of the board. The issue revolves around provisions of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) that prohibit committee meetings from becoming de facto board meetings without giving proper public notice. The rule exists because the potential for abuse exists when school board meetings are held without giving notice to the public of their time and place.
Loiselle cited case law along with relevant text from the OMA in stating that a board member has a right to attend any committee meeting that he or she is not a member of, as long as that member refrains from speaking or otherwise interacting with members of the committee during the proceedings. Because many committees consist of three people, a fourth person would constitute a quorum.
TRUSTEE ALLAN Smolinski said he had considered attending some of the committee meetings but decided against it because, ?I was afraid my big mouth would get me into trouble. It?s better to be safe than sorry and just don?t go there.? Newly-elected trustee Scott McLennan was sworn in to complete the term left by Greg Frost who resigned last year. Keith Gordon had taken the trustee position last fall with the understanding that he would serve until the next election. McLennan previously served on the board and was president. Board president Mike
THE BOARD recognized the efforts of school nurse Kathy Winemiller in organizing and conducting the Focus on Fitness program. Winemiller also presented new curriculum guidelines on sex education at the high school. The board indicated that the matter of moving the sixth grade classes to the high school would be discussed at the special meeting of the board on May 23. The board expressed satisfaction with the results of the public meeting held at the high school library on April 18.
K-12 principal Deb Jones reported that last weekend?s prom was an unqualified success and everyone enjoyed the experience. Superintendent Ed Schultz noted that the current junior varsity assistant coach for football Chad Coleman was resigning and applying for the junior varsity head coach position. The board approved the appointment. Schultz also spoke about the planned march on the Capitol in Lansing by a coalition of K-12 and higher education officials and teachers on June 21. He said 50,000 people were expected to attend the march.