Richmond Community Schools closes public hearing on tentative collective bargaining agreement

Richmond Community Schools opened a pre-ratification public hearing Nov. 19 under IC 20-29-6-19 to allow public testimony on a tentative collective bargaining agreement; no members of the public spoke and the hearing was closed by a 4-0 vote.

Speaker 2 declared the hearing open and read the statutory requirement, saying: "The school employer must conduct a public meeting to discuss the tentative collective bargaining agreement at least 72 hours before it is ratified by the school employer." Speaker 2 also stated the tentative agreement "has been posted on the school employer's website at least 72 hours prior to the public meeting." These statements were read aloud as part of the public hearing notice.

Speaker 2 explained that testimony could be "written or oral" and reviewed the rules the district uses to keep public commentary timely and efficient. When asked if anyone had signed up to speak, Speaker 2 said there were no sign-ups. Speaker 1 then offered, "I'm gonna close the public hearing." Speaker 2 recorded a motion by Member Stevens and a second by Member Brand; the board voted in favor, and the presiding speaker announced, "So it passes 4 to 0."

The hearing segment in the transcript contains no public comments and no vote on the tentative agreement itself; the only formal action recorded in this segment was the motion and vote to close the public hearing. The meeting then moved on from the public hearing portion.