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Board approves personnel report with one trustee dissenting over confidentiality
Summary
Trustees voted to approve the personnel report as amended and tabled one termination item; Trustee Gomez voted no and objected that the personnel document was labeled confidential and not available to the public.
The School City of East Chicago board voted on March 11 to approve the personnel report with one item (Item 4 under terminations) tabled at the superintendent’s request. The motion to approve the personnel report as amended was made by Trustee Joel Rodriguez and seconded by Trustee Diane Smith. The roll call vote was 4‑1, with Trustee Gomez voting no.
Trustee Gomez said the personnel report was stamped confidential and urged greater transparency: “We're a public entity. We serve the public and we're, in my opinion, hiding behind the public with a confidential personnel report,” Gomez said, adding that the public was being asked to comment on a document they could not see.
Superintendent Dr. Bourne requested that Item 4 be tabled; trustees approved the personnel report with that exception. Board members and the superintendent did not disclose the confidential personnel details during public session; the meeting record shows the specific item was tabled but does not include the contents of the confidential material.
Trustees who voted in favor said the motion approved the personnel report as amended for the public record, while the dissent registered by Trustee Gomez was entered for the minutes.
The board did not change its practice during the meeting; Trustee Gomez called for publication of the personnel report to improve transparency, and trustees agreed to continue working on how to manage sensitive personnel information while meeting ethical and legal obligations.
