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Regional School District 17 board: prior High School referendum motion legally insufficient; no action taken
Summary
Board leaders said bond counsel found the previously passed motion to send the High School Project to referendum was legally insufficient and that the district did not hold the required public hearing. With an October 7 referendum date looming and towns unable to move it, the board postponed formal action and will revisit the issue at a public Sept. 16 meeting.
Board Chair Suzanne Sack told the Regional School District No. 17 Board of Education on Aug. 28 that the district recently learned a previously passed motion to approve the High School Project and send a referendum question to voters lacked required legal steps. "We have recently learned that in order to properly pass a motion(s) to approve the High School Project, including District Resources, and send the appropriate question to referendum to the community, the Board would have had to be presented with motions that were legally sufficient, hold a public hearing, noticed in a public paper five days before the hearing and at least 30 days prior to the referendum, and conduct a Board of Education meeting following the hearing to deliberate over and pass the motions," Sack said, according to the minutes.
Interim Superintendent Paul K. Smith told the board that when he consulted bond counsel and shared the original motion, counsel determined the motion was legally insufficient to present to the public for referendum and advised that "the District did not conduct the necessary public hearing." Smith also reported that both towns informed him the referendum date could not be moved later and still meet a state-required November deadline. Because of that timing constraint, the board would have had to complete the missing steps within the subsequent seven days to preserve the scheduled Oct. 7 referendum.
Board members discussed the pros and cons of attempting to complete the required steps in the short window and the ramifications of not moving forward. The minutes note the board acknowledged the need for further public discussion at the regular Board of Education meeting on Sept. 16 when members of the public can comment or watch on video. The board did not take any formal action at the Aug. 28 meeting.
The minutes also record that meeting participants were unable to activate the video recording because of technical issues and that no visitors were present. Board Chair Sack adjourned the meeting at 8:17 PM. The minutes were submitted by Sarah Kaiser, Administrative Assistant to the Board of Education, and show an approval/signature line for Board Secretary Dr. Kathleen Zandi.
