September 27, 2000
Board President
Violates Law Again At 7:05 p.m., school district attorney Larry Reich was seated in the boardroom, with four of the five board members and all the assistant superintendents. All were waiting for school board member Grover to arrive so that the meeting could officially be convened. It was not clear if Reich attended the meeting due to board member Cowards’ request that district’s counsel be present at the board meetings or for other business. Board president Ellerbe had previously announced that Coward’s request was not going to be honored. The purpose of the unusual appearance of the district’s attorney was not disclosed by the secretive board. The board minutes show that it has been years since the district’s attorney has attended any board meeting. Immediately upon Grover’s arrival at 7:10 p.m., President Ellerbe again flaunted the NYS Open Meetings Law, when he illegally moved the meeting into executive session. None of the incumbent board members corrected Ellerbe's illegal motion. Newly elected board member Coward, whose platform included a pledge to see that the board followed the NYS Open Meetings Law, sat mute once again, as Ellerbe disregarded and disrespected the law. The school district’s attorney Reich winced and also remained silent as Ellerbe bungled through another of his illegal motions As your reporter was leaving the board to another of its mysterious executive sessions, I mentioned that the district’s web site still linked the logo of the board’s newspaper, the Pride, to the Village of Freeport’s so called "official" web site. Asst. superintendent Kuncham and the board were advised of this problem months ago. Once again Kuncham noted the complaint, as did board member Muscara. At about 8 p.m. the district’s financial guru Kuncham, left the boardroom to use the copy machine. He apologized to your reporter for overlooking the problem on the district’s web site and promised to take care of it "first thing in the morning." It is not known if this matter was illegally discussed in the executive session. At 8:10 p.m. the district’s attorney Reich left the meeting. At 8:30 p.m. the superintendent and the assistant superintendents left the boardroom. About thirty minutes later, the boardroom door opened. No announcement was made and it was unclear whether another board member was going to the bathroom or the meeting was going back into open session. As soon as it became clear that the board was back in session, your reporter hustled into the boardroom. The meeting had already been adjourned. It was unknown if any action was taken. Your reporter questioned Ellerbe, asking how anyone was supposed to know that the open meeting had resumed. The renegade Ellerbe responded, "The door was open. You don’t run the meeting." Your reporter thanked President Ellerbe for the information. |
