Stow-Munroe Falls board debate spotlights Ohio Checkbook resolution and tense exchanges over transparency
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Summary
Board member Michael Sheehan pressed to reinstate the district's participation in the Ohio Checkbook public-spending site, triggering a heated exchange with colleagues and the treasurer over who controls publication and whether the board should revisit the original resolution.
A sharp exchange at the Sept. 22 Stow-Munroe Falls City School District board meeting centered on a dormant board resolution to publish district records on the Ohio Checkbook transparency site and whether the board or the treasurer controls that disclosure.
Board member Michael Sheehan said he located records from 2016 and 2017 and urged the district to resume participation in the site, arguing the resolution remains active and should be followed. "We have a resolution to be participating in the Ohio checkbook," Sheehan said, urging the board to add current data.
Treasurer Patrick Gallano (treasurer) and other board members responded that the Ohio Checkbook records are uneven and that participation had lapsed at the discretion of prior administrators. Gallano explained the treasurer's office publishes monthly check registers and that a direct comparison to the Ohio Checkbook requires additional work; he said he would review the site and proposed bringing the topic back to policy committee for a fuller discussion.
The dispute became personal at times: Sheehan pressed for immediate action and questioned why the records were not already posted, while other board members criticized his approach and said a careful policy review was the appropriate next step. One board member suggested the board has not regularly used the Ohio Checkbook since 2018 and encouraged a measured review of whether to reinstate the practice.
The board did not adopt an immediate policy change at the meeting; several members asked that the matter be scheduled for further discussion, so the board can consider whether to amend, reinstate or rescind the 2015 resolution.
What happens next: board members who asked for more information recommended placing the topic on a future agenda or referring it to the policy committee so trustees can review the legal language of the resolution and the practical steps required to resume regular uploads to the Ohio Checkbook.
