Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two set to appear in Sunday’s Tribune.
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MCCALL — The McCall-Donnelly School Board violated the state’s open meetings law at two meetings by conducting business without a properly noticed agenda or minutes of the meeting, Valley County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Naugle said.
Because of the violations, Naugle recommended that M-D trustees should schedule a training session on the specifics of the Idaho Open Meeting Law.
The meetings where the violations occurred included a board retreat Aug. 17 and a work session Aug. 26.
“While the evidence is not clear that these violations were deliberate, they nevertheless erode public confidence because the decision-making process discouraged public input and did not provide a documentation process that would allow the public to review and scrutinize the board’s decision,” Naugle said in a letter to the district’s attorneys.
Naugle rebuked the board for its lack of transparency in policy making and for the public repeatedly only being allowed to submit written comments.
M-D Superintendent Eric Pingrey said the trustees had not committed a violation despite Naugle’s opinion.
“While we may personally disagree with some of the opinion of the county prosecutor’s office, we believe that all public servants can work to be more transparent and more detailed in their duties as they serve the community,” Pingrey said.
None of the five trustees responded to a request for comment from The Star-News.
As county prosecutor, Naugle is designated in the open meeting law as the official responsible for enforcing its provisions.
On Aug. 17, M-D trustees held an annual board retreat. Trustees then considered a mask mandate at a meeting Aug. 24, which failed to pass. A work session was held Aug. 26 and another meeting was held Aug. 27, at which rules were adopted to require masks for all students and staff in M-D schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Three citizen complaints were filed Aug. 30 claiming several violations by trustees. The board voted Sept. 13 to say that no violations had taken place.
Naugle’s chief criticisms of the board’s actions was that deliberations were conducted at the Aug. 17 meeting when no specific topics were listed on the agenda and no detailed minutes were taken.
He also found that the minutes for the Aug. 26 work session did not include enough detail to meet the requirements of the law.
He found that those actions violated Idaho law because the meetings were not conducted “in a manner that was open to the public in any meaningful way.”
Board meetings must be noticed with an agenda and calling them a “retreat,” “workshop,” or any other term does not negate this requirement, Naugle said.
“The agenda must accurately reflect the business to be considered at the meeting,” he said. “Trustees must avoid deliberating on pending matters not on the agenda.”
The agenda for the Aug. 17 meeting, which was held at a restaurant in McCall, stated that “no business will be conducted,” but Naugle said deliberations on a mask mandate or any other school policy is district business and was required to be noticed on an agenda prior to the meeting.
Even if the board did not originally intend to deliberate toward a decision about mask policy, there is ample evidence to indicate that it did, Naugle said.
The M-D board has conducted an annual retreat hosted at a local restaurant for the past several years. Every agenda and meeting minutes for the retreat on the M-D website since 2018 includes a similar agenda and reporting of the minutes.
Despite imperfections in the process, Naugle concluded that the passing of the district’s COVID-19 mitigation policy Aug. 27 met the minimum requirements of the law.
“If not for the fact that the board of trustees appears to have met the minimum required steps to conduct the Aug. 27, 2021, special meeting where the ... mitigation policy was voted on and passed by a majority vote, I would be forced to file a complaint seeking to nullify the board of trustees decision,” Naugle said in the letter.
— Max Silverson, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday
Wilderness education grants available
Applications for the Connie Saylor Johnson Wilderness Education grants are due Oct. 31, according to Deb Gale, a board member of the Selway Bitterroot-Frank Church Wilderness Foundation that is offering the grants.
Teachers, schools, libraries, arts organizations, historical societies, museums, nonprofit groups or individuals are encouraged to apply for a grant up to $1,000. Examples of the types of projects that grants may fund include: offering outdoor education in backcountry skills for students or community members; integrating wilderness history, science, philosophy and culture into existing school curriculum; attending or offering workshops about wilderness or natural ecosystems; and bringing guest speakers to classrooms or communities.
“We are so excited to help share a love and appreciation for Wilderness and wild places for many generations to come,” said Gale, who encourages people to apply for this opportunity.
The foundation assists the Forest Service in stewardship for the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return wildernesses and surrounding wildlands through boots-on-the-ground work, public education and partnerships, according to their website.
In 2019, SBFC established an endowment fund for wilderness education to honor the memory and service of Connie Saylor Johnson. She worked tirelessly to provide hands-on experiences for children, college students and adults from across the United States to learn about wilderness. Johnson was the first field staff member of the foundation, serving on its board from 2009 until her death in 2018.
For information click the link for the grant application package: selwaybitterroot.org/csjwef-grant. For questions, email csj@selwaybitterroot.org.
— Norma Staaf, The Clearwater Progress (Kamiah), Thursday
