Megan Miller, a member of the Beloit School District Board of Education and a parent, used her public-comment time on Dec. 2 to raise concerns about transparency and a possible open-meetings violation involving the board’s consultant contract.

Miller said the board approved a contract related to a board consultant on Oct. 15, 2024, but the board did not see the contract at that time. She said she later learned that a memo — dated Nov. 8 and said to take effect Nov. 10 — described a pause or limited on-site services by Dr. Earhart, the board consultant. Miller told the board that Article 8 of the consultant contract requires any modification to be made by written instrument executed by both parties and asserted that any pause or change to contracted services should be presented to the full board for action under Board Policy 171.2.

Board President Tia Johnson responded during agenda discussion that "no action is being taken on the contract" and that it is the chairperson’s authority to approve or deny agenda items. Miller said she received inconsistent email responses and reiterated her request that the matter be placed on a future board agenda to ensure the public record and compliance with open-meetings norms.

The board did not take formal action on Dr. Earhart’s contract at the Dec. 2 meeting. Miller asked the board to correct the oversight and promised to push for greater transparency; no board member moved to place a related agenda item on that night’s agenda. The board’s president said the issue will appear on the next agenda after the involved board member was notified.

Next steps: Miller asked that administrative staff and board leadership bring the alleged contract modification to the full board for formal consideration at a future meeting.