Board President David Matthews says lack of quorum halts scheduled Englewood Public School District proceedings

David Matthews, president of the Englewood Public School District Board of Education, opened the meeting and said the board did not have a quorum, preventing the body from proceeding with hearings scheduled for the evening. "We do not have a quorum tonight," Matthews said, adding that the situation was "very unfortunate" for the district, employees and the hearings planned for the night.

Matthews told the public the meeting had been scheduled more than 10 days earlier and criticized the missed attendance as costly. "This is a total waste of time and money," he said, noting board members are unpaid and that everyone’s time is valuable. He said the board would wait until about 8:00 p.m. to see whether additional members arrived.

Another participant who identified himself as Bill urged the public to note which members were absent and suggested the absences should matter to voters. "I want the public to notice who's here and who's not here," Bill said, adding that at future meetings the public should remember "what happened tonight."

Matthews then identified the four members present—Feinstein, Karen Rivera, Sherry Banks Watson and himself—and noted administrative staff, technical staff and the board attorney were in attendance. The board did not take any formal votes or motions during the session while it awaited a potential quorum.

The board’s next procedural step, according to statements made at the meeting, was to wait until 8:00 p.m. for additional members; the transcript does not record any subsequent action or whether the scheduled hearings occurred later.