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Resident tells Franklin City Council she is being 'harassed' by the school system; council debates next steps
Summary
A longtime volunteer, Carolyn Lawrence, told the council she received a letter and expects to be barred from school property; council members debated contacting the school board versus holding a closed-session review and agreed to seek clarification from school board representatives first.
During the public-comment period, Carolyn Lawrence addressed the Franklin City Council and alleged she had been "harassed with the school system," saying she recently received a letter and feared she could be prohibited from entering school property despite years of volunteering and working at football games.
"I'm being harassed with the school system. I received a letter last week," Lawrence said, and offered to leave copies of the correspondence with the clerk for council review.
Council members discussed how to respond. One council member (Speaker 6) said the issue might warrant a closed-session discussion because of potential legal exposure and the council’s role in appointing school board members: "I would recommend that we discuss in closed session the situation that we were confronted with tonight because I received an email and, I am concerned." The speaker noted past instances when the council had intervened in school-related matters.
Other council members pushed for a more limited next step. A different council member (Speaker 7) suggested starting by contacting the school board representative for the complainant's ward before pursuing closed-session action: "Can we start with talking to our rep, the school board representatives first and then bring it back to council." Council member (Speaker 3) added that Lawrence is a constituent of their ward and that they will speak separately with the school board representative.
The council did not vote to enter a closed session at this meeting. Council members asked that interested members contact their school board representatives and that the clerk accept the letter from the commenter so council can review the documentation. No school officials were present to respond during the meeting.
Next steps noted during the meeting were limited to fact-gathering: council members said they would contact school board representatives and return the matter to the council if further action was warranted.
The council then proceeded to other agenda items.
