Minute By Minute – Brattleboro Boards Having Trouble Abiding By Open Meeting Law

Brattleboro has had two recent minute-related incidents that were slightly out of the ordinary. In one case, a school board member requested that something not discussed at a previous meeting be added to the official minutes to clarify something. In the other, a selectboard member held back approval of minutes until they could be edited for stylistic changes. The selectboard has also struggled to meet required deadlines for posting of minutes.

Let’s look at the school board. According to the minutes for the June 21 WSESD board:


WSESD Board Meeting Agenda and Minutes

I. CALL TO ORDER

Chair KY called the meeting to order at 6:03pm.

MG asked to amend the agenda to include Board development workshops.

DST asked to amend the agenda to put on-hold the entire “Administrative Report” agenda item because the reports were sent to Board members so close to the meeting. She said this does not give her enough time to review the documents.


WSESD Board Meeting Agenda and Minutes

AGENDA
I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – Kelly Young, Board Chair
II. CONSENT AGENDA
• CLERK’S REPORT – Approval of Minutes – June 7, 2022
III. Public Comment on Non-agenda Items (10 minutes)
IV. Unfinished Business
A. Sexual Abuse Investigation Update
B. SRO Task Force Recommendations Update


WSESD Board Meeting Agenda and Minutes

AGENDA
I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – Kelly Young, Board Chair
II. CONSENT AGENDA
• CLERK’S REPORT – Approval of Minutes – May 3 and May 10
III. Pupil Weighting – Emilie Kornheiser
IV. Coalition for Vermont Student Equity
V. Public Comment on Non-agenda Items (10 minutes)
VI. Unfinished Business
A. Sexual Abuse Investigation Update