Public commenter asks board to amend Jan. 12 minutes, cites records showing board member omitted from Jan. 5 email

A public commenter on April 16 asked the Whitley County Consolidated Schools Board of Trustees to amend the official minutes from the board’s Jan. 12, 2026 meeting, saying the minutes omitted a portion of discussion about how meeting information was distributed to board members.

The commenter said board member Chad Moore had publicly stated at the January meeting that he was not included on information sent to other members on Jan. 5. "Records obtained through a public records request show that Mr. Moore was in fact not included on the January 5th email distributing the agenda to other board members," the commenter said. The commenter also said a July 7 email exchange between Superintendent McDermott and board president Dave Smith suggested Mr. Moore could be excluded from future communications.

The commenter asked the board to "amend the January 12th, 2026 meeting minutes to accurately reflect this discussion so that the public record is complete and transparent." During the meeting no motion or vote on amending the minutes was recorded and the board did not announce any immediate action on the request.

Why it matters: The commenter framed the request as a transparency and public-record issue, saying the omission removes context where public statements at meetings appear to be contradicted by contemporaneous communications. The board did not take a vote or make a public determination on the request during the session.

What’s next: The public commenter asked for an amendment; the transcript records no formal action at the April 16 meeting. The item may be taken up at a future meeting or handled through the board’s established minutes-correction process.