Rochester board approves oversight of bargaining MOAs, rejects two proposed transparency amendments

The Rochester Community Schools Board of Education approved adding an agenda item to require that memorandums of agreement (MOAs) negotiated by bargaining teams be subject to board approval, but rejected two other proposed transparency items during its regular meeting.

Trustee Weaver moved to add language to board policy requiring that all MOAs negotiated by bargaining teams come to the board for formal approval; the motion passed, with the chair scheduling the item as agenda 8.6. Weaver said the change was prompted by recent contract activity in which, she said, "a memorandum of understanding that added language around academic freedom" was handled without clear board approval and had misled the community. Trustee Lacui voiced support, calling the change straightforward and a step toward transparency. The board approved the amended agenda with that addition by a 5-0 vote to move forward with the item on a future meeting agenda.

Earlier in the meeting Trustee Weaver proposed an amendment to board policy 7.1 that would require the district to display on its website all Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, including what was requested, who made the request, any fee charged, and a link to documents provided. Supporters described the measure as a "show of good faith" after, they said, information disclosed by FOIA was leaked to an anonymous blog and used to target a parent. Trustee Weaver characterized the proposal as a simple transparency measure: "why should anyone care if someone's known who made a request?" The chair opposed adding the item to the agenda at this meeting on the grounds the agenda was already lengthy; the motion to amend the agenda to include the FOIA posting requirement failed (motion reported as 2 in favor, 3 opposed).

Separately, Trustee Lacui moved to add an item directing the communications department to refrain from using fake aliases to monitor private social media accounts and pages. Lacui cited a recent administrator admission and said that "to date, there has been no accountability for the communications department spying on parents when they were advocating for their students." Trustee Weaver supported the motion as a way to set clear expectations for staff conduct. The chair again opposed placement at the current meeting for reasons of timing and agenda length; that amendment failed (motion reported as 2 in favor, 3 opposed).

The board's actions change agenda planning for upcoming meetings: the MOA oversight item will appear on a future agenda for full discussion and formal consideration, while the FOIA posting and communications-directive proposals were not added. No formal policy text was adopted during this session; the approved amendment was only to add an item to a future agenda for board consideration.

Actions recorded during the meeting included: the initial motion to approve the agenda (moved by Trustee Gupta; supported by Trustee Annis), the failed motion to add a FOIA posting item (moved by Trustee Weaver; support recorded; failed 2-3), the successful motion to add MOA oversight language to a future agenda (moved by Trustee Weaver; passed 4-1 when the amendment was approved), and the failed motion to add a communications-directive item (moved by Trustee Lacui; failed 2-3). The board then approved the full agenda with the MOA item included and proceeded to recognitions and reports.

The meeting transcript records claims by board members that FOIA information had been leaked to an anonymous blog "endorsed by the REA" and that communications staff had used "fake alias[es]" to monitor parents' private social media. Those are claims made in oral remarks during discussion and were not independently substantiated on the record during the meeting; no staff response to those specific allegations is included in the public transcript.

The MOA oversight item now scheduled for a future meeting will be the next procedural step; the board did not adopt a final policy change during the December session.