During a Feb. 15 called meeting, the board voted to fill the position using a secret ballot.
Georgia Press Association attorney David Hudson and Hollie Manheimer of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation said the hidden vote is illegal under sunshine statutes.
An attorney who advises the board disagrees.
Phil Hartley, of Harben and Hartley in Gainesville, said the voting method is not stipulated by law.
“There is nothing under the Open Meetings Act itself that directs a board member in the manner to vote,” Hartley said.
He said the circumstances of this vote, which ended with the appointment of Tim Turner to a board seat vacated earlier this year by John Stone, made the vote entirely legal.
Nevertheless, Hartley said board members plan on revealing their votes for the public record during the next board meeting. The attorney said they are going to vote to amend the minutes reflecting how each member voted in the appointment.
Hartley said he sees no need for any further action.
“I don’t believe there is any requirement to redo their votes,” he said. “I see nothing in the Open Meetings Law requiring board action.”
Cedartown attorney W. Wright Gammon Jr. said a possible lawsuit challenging the board’s action is temporarily on hold to give the board an opportunity “to rescind the secret vote.”
Grady McCrickard, who took over as school board chairman in January, said Wednesday he tried to avoid problems with the vote beforehand by talking with Hartley about what procedures could be used in the vote.
“The reason for me contacting the attorney beforehand was I wanted to be upfront and above board,” McCrickard said.
Hartley confirmed he did talk to McCrickard prior to the vote, but said he couldn’t offer any details because of attorney-client privilege.
See related stories:
Local attorney upset with Board of Education
and
Attorneys: Polk BOE secret ballot violates Open Meetings Act
parents bussiness leaders and 2 teachers should be on board not some back room bar vote that was seceret
only reason some people go to church is for bussiness
church is the oldest form of bussiness
i say we wipe slate clean and vote fresh ones in
it is up to us to vote them in an out
Absoutely correct. To that I will add another definition of insanity: putting teachers on the school board.
We need parents on the school board, whose focus is the education of children. We need business people on the school board, whose focus is running the school system according to a budget. We need people on the school board who know the difference between needs and wants.
The taxpayers cannot support more of the school board's wants. This is a school board whose members (some of them, at least) went to every committee meeting whether or not they were on the committee. When the ruling was made that board members would only be paid for committee meetings IF THEY WERE ASSIGNED TO THAT COMMITTEE, THEY STOPPED GOING. So tell me they were interested. Tell me they were concerned. Tell me they were interested in anything other than the pay for yet another committee meeting.
What does the Polk County Board of Education cost the taxpayers? What do we get out of the Board of Education? It would be good to know the answer to the first question, and it would be good to evaluate the answers to the second.
I know Mr. Turner and I assure you that he has tremendous support in this community. Tim, you may place YOUR sign in my yard whenever you like.
My comments on this subject may lead you all to assume things about my demographic makeup, and you would be incorrect. Non-issue.
I don't know. Just curious.