CARTHAGE — In response to the school budget's overwhelming defeat Tuesday, Board of Education officials will meet in executive session today, citing "personnel" reasons.
Under the state Open Meetings Law, "personnel" is not a valid reason for executive session.
Only eight subjects may be discussed behind closed doors. One subject is "the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular person or corporation."
After a discussion about the law with Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services Superintendent Jack J. Boak, Carthage Central Superintendent Carl H. Militello specified the need for executive session and said the board will "discuss a particular person or persons."
Robert J. Freeman, executive director of the state Department of State Committee on Open Government, wrote an advisory opinion in 2001 on the use of executive sessions.
His opinion states: "When a discussion concerns matters of policy, such as the manner in which public money is expended or allocated, the functions of a department or perhaps the creation or elimination of positions, I do not believe that (Open Meetings Law) could be asserted, even though the discussion may relate to 'personnel.' For example, if a discussion involves staff reductions or layoffs due to budgetary concerns, the issues in my view would involve matters of policy."
West Carthage Mayor Scott M. Burto, who has questioned school spending and called for lower school taxes, also thinks the meeting should be open to the public.
"The results of yesterday's election show that people are truly concerned about this and if the school board and the administration want future support, they need to be more open and should allow the public to sit in and hear what the school board is doing and why they're doing it," Mr. Burto said Wednesday. "They are meeting specifically for budget issues, and that is a public issue."
The three Board of Education members who were up for re-election were voted out of their seats Tuesday, but none of the three new board members has been invited to sit in on the meeting.
"The new board members have to wait for their oath on July 1," Mr. Militello said. "They will not be a part of executive session until then."
New member William J. Sochia said he would like to sit in on the meeting and agrees it should be opened to the public.
His goal as a board member is to "be a communicator."
"I believe the residents of our district are not informed well enough," Mr. Sochia said. "I will go back to the residents and keep them informed as best I can. I want to make sure they understand what we're discussing and reviewing."
Another new board member, Michael P. Chevier, said his goal is to "make the activity of the board more transparent to the public."
He would like to see agendas and resolutions offered at board meetings posted on the district's Web site "so people who are interested in what we're doing can take a look."
