1.   Consistent failure of the Board of Education to directly answer questions brought forth by community residents at recent Board meetings.

Since the October 12th Board meeting, community members have submitted more than 50 questions to the Board of Education related to their decision to search for a new Superintendent.  The great majority of these questions have either been ignored by the Board or answered in very vague, general terms through letters written by the school board's attorney.  The NYS Department of State Committee on Open Government has stated:  "The thrust of §87(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Law is consistent with the Legislative Declaration that appears at the beginning of the Open Meetings Law and states that:  "it is essential to the maintenance of a democratic society that the public business be performed in an open and public manner and that the citizens of this state be fully aware of and able to observe the performance of public officials and attend and listen to the deliberations and decisions that go into the making of public policy. The people must be able to remain informed if they are to retain control over those who are their public servants."  Quoted from the Committee's item OML-AO-4264, 9/29/06.  The purpose of NYS Department of State Open Meeting Law is to allow the community to know how their representatives stand on different issues.

2.   Failure of the Board of Education to give the community timely notice and opportunity to provide input into the initial phase of selecting a new school Superintendent.

The Board of Education announced their intention to search for a new superintendent at the Board meeting on September 27th.  The community was not notified until a month later when a newsletter was mailed out on October 25^th.  At the October 12th Board meeting, the Board voted and approved employment of the Warner Center for Professional Development & Education Reform to search for a new school Superintendent.  A member of the Warner Center were already waiting outside in the hallway during this October 12th Board meeting.  Obviously, the Board had already made their decision BEFORE the actual Board meeting...without any input from the community.

3.   Violation of procedural rules related to Board of Education executive sessions in 2010.

The Board of Education did vote 14 times during 2010 to go into Executive Session for the reason of "personnel."  The NYS Department of State Committee on Open Government has deemed "personnel" as a wholly inadequate reason for going into Executive Session.  Here is a quote from the NYS School Boards Association, Inc. - "The motion to go into executive session must identify the subject matter of the executive session with particularity (Gordon v. Village of Monticello, 207 A.D.2d 55 (3rd Dep't 1994), rev'd on other grounds, 87 N.Y.2d 124 (1995); NYS Department of State, Committee on Open Government OML-AO-3478, June 26, 2002).  There is no authority to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing "personnel matters".  A school board does not need to identify who it is going to talk about, but it must disclose what it is going to talk about (e.g. "to discuss the discipline of a particular employee") (see NYS Department of State, Committee on Open Government OML-AO-3478, June 26, 2002)."   Quoted from the NYS School Boards Association's publication "School District Obligations Under the Open Meeting Law" - 2009.

4.   Failure of the Board of Education to give our school Superintendent a reason for not renewing his contract.

Mr. Gallagher has worked the past 20 years in our school district doing his part in helping to provide our children with an excellent education here at WCCSD.  The Board of Education still has not told Mr. Gallagher why they do not want to renew his contract next year.  They owe him this courtesy.

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