Monday, January 01, 2007
Update on BOE firing of Jim Shon
It's a new year, but some things just never seem to change.
The Board of Education still has not turned over all of the material they were directed to release by the Office of Information Practices on the illegal secret meeting they held to fire Jim Shon. Instead, on December 13 they wrote that they will be scheduling yet another meeting on January 4 to confer (in secret, of course) with their attorney on the matter.
They did release some more, on December 28. This time there is less magic marker redaction. You can read it here (attached to the letter). Compare with the previous copy and you'll see that we are making progress slowly.
The BOE has had months to confer with their attorney, the deputy Attorney General. It's not as though they were trying to get an appointment with a famous brain surgeon or get their cable TV fixed--they can meet with the attorney any time, no waiting. In fact, they can just pick up the phone: "Hey, Holly, this guy still insists he wants a copy of the minutes. I didn't understand last time when you said we had to turn it over. Could you explain again?"
Honestly, this is getting old. A law is a law. They broke it. No one goes to jail. They just have to cooperate now and turn over the material that should have been public.
What exactly is the deputy AG telling the BOE when they do confer? Keep in mind that the deputy AG participates in these secret meetings, legal and illegal. Why does the deputy get a free ride on this? It sounds so silly to say that the BOE's attorney should know the law. Of course she does. I wonder why the deputy isn't held accountable for her part when a meeting is held contrary to the open meeting law.
Maybe we need one more law to clarify the role of the AG's office so that they are required to inform their client when a meeting is illegal and to absent themselves if it goes on.
Meanwhile, if you're at all still interested, check back here in a bit for the next installment.
The Board of Education still has not turned over all of the material they were directed to release by the Office of Information Practices on the illegal secret meeting they held to fire Jim Shon. Instead, on December 13 they wrote that they will be scheduling yet another meeting on January 4 to confer (in secret, of course) with their attorney on the matter.
They did release some more, on December 28. This time there is less magic marker redaction. You can read it here (attached to the letter). Compare with the previous copy and you'll see that we are making progress slowly.
The BOE has had months to confer with their attorney, the deputy Attorney General. It's not as though they were trying to get an appointment with a famous brain surgeon or get their cable TV fixed--they can meet with the attorney any time, no waiting. In fact, they can just pick up the phone: "Hey, Holly, this guy still insists he wants a copy of the minutes. I didn't understand last time when you said we had to turn it over. Could you explain again?"
Honestly, this is getting old. A law is a law. They broke it. No one goes to jail. They just have to cooperate now and turn over the material that should have been public.
What exactly is the deputy AG telling the BOE when they do confer? Keep in mind that the deputy AG participates in these secret meetings, legal and illegal. Why does the deputy get a free ride on this? It sounds so silly to say that the BOE's attorney should know the law. Of course she does. I wonder why the deputy isn't held accountable for her part when a meeting is held contrary to the open meeting law.
Maybe we need one more law to clarify the role of the AG's office so that they are required to inform their client when a meeting is illegal and to absent themselves if it goes on.
Meanwhile, if you're at all still interested, check back here in a bit for the next installment.
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