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Hartland board unanimously opts into Section 31AA funding after legal briefing on privilege waiver
Summary
After a legal briefing about the scope of a required investigator/privilege waiver, the Hartland Consolidated Schools Board voted unanimously to adopt the Section 31AA opt‑in resolution; board members discussed potential liability, insurance implications and delaying the state checkbox until the last business day.
The Hartland Consolidated Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Nov. 17 to adopt a resolution to opt into State School Aid Act Section 31AA funding, after hearing a legal briefing on what the statute’s investigator-privilege waiver could require.
Legal counsel Mary Dooley of Troon told the board Section 31AA defines a “mass casualty event” broadly and said that, as written, the waiver could be triggered in situations the legislature may not have intended. Dooley read the language to the board: “an event that occurs on school grounds or at school activities that result in significant injuries to not fewer than 3 individuals or fatalities or a demand that exceeds normal local emergency response capacity or a sudden and timely surge of emergency service needs.” She warned that the statutory waiver could make attorney-client and investigator-client materials available to state investigators and possibly to plaintiffs’ attorneys in later litigation.
Board members debated the tradeoffs between the funding — described in board materials as roughly $31.08 per pupil (about $700,000–$750,000 to the district as presented) — and the potential loss of legal privilege in certain investigations. Superintendent Chuck Hughes and counsel indicated the district’s insurer (SETSEG) does not anticipate changing coverage solely because a district opts in; Dooley cautioned insurance law is complex and a reservation-of-rights defense is possible in some circumstances.
Trustee Jeff Scott framed the choice as a student-safety decision: "Could you face a parent that's gonna ask you, why did you vote against this money for this situation just to protect attorney client privilege?" Trustee Scott argued the board’s duty to students weighed in favor of accepting available resources.
The board adopted a motion authorizing the superintendent (or designee) to complete any necessary documentation to implement the board’s election. Trustees discussed delaying the state checkbox submission until the last business day the district is open in November (to allow a short window for any court action or new information), but the resolution vote itself was taken and carried unanimously.
What’s next: staff said they would prepare the grant acceptance paperwork and monitor the pending lawsuits and possible injunctions that could alter state deadlines; the board retained discretion to reconvene if the legal situation changed.
