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Show our youth no one is above the law

4 min read

Do as I say, not as I do.

We as Americans are living in a world where it matters more than ever to teach our children the importance of respect — respecting adults, respecting themselves, respecting our earth, and perhaps most importantly, respecting the law.

So it is disheartening to see so many school board members and the solicitors for those districts blatantly disregard the law when it comes to the Sunshine Act — Pennsylvania’s law that ensures the public has access to information regarding meetings and action taken by governing bodies such as municipal and school boards.

We acknowledge that some school board members, especially those taking a seat for the first time, may not be well versed regarding the Sunshine Law. That’s understandable. But that’s why every single school board has legal counsel — a solicitor — who serves to advise on the proper operation of running the school district. And who gets paid by taxpayer money to do so.

Surely the lawyer for the school district knows the law, right?

So why, then, is it oftentimes a fight for information the public is entitled to have?

As was the case in the Brownsville Area School District recently when the board voted to terminate an employee, but refused to give the public any information regarding the employee. Despite being reminded that the Sunshine Law states that the public is entitled to a name, length of employment and other information, the solicitor, Jeremy Davis, from Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in Uniontown, refused and the district suggested a Right-to-Know request — just to gather information that the public has the right to know at the time of the vote to terminate. In turn, the process took more than a month after the vote for the public to receive the name of the terminated employee.

In February, the Laurel Highlands School Board also terminated a district employee, and also refused to reveal the name. That board’s solicitor, Gary Frankhouser, also from Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law, suggested a Right-To-Know request.

According to attorney Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, in addition to the public information protected by the Right-to-Know Law, the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act requires public agencies to provide an opportunity for meaningful public comment prior to all votes. That cannot happen if the public does not know the name of the person whom the board is voting to terminate, she noted.

Executive sessions are another area where school officials and their legal counsel oftentimes fail to follow the law. The Sunshine Law very clearly states the reasons for executive session — and those reasons are very few. Yet, anyone who has ever been to a school board meeting knows the extent to which school directors will hide behind closed doors for discussion announced only as “legal issues” or “personnel matters.”

It is a lesson, we fear, in showing our youth how to disregard the law.

How can you reasonably dole out a punishment to a student who has broken a school rule, and then at the very same meeting refuse to comply with state law?

If you want to run a school district where students have a healthy fear for what might happen should they disobey the law, start looking at what you are doing to set the example. We call on school board officials to set a high standard for obeying the law and speak up when they see it’s about to be broken.

Let’s all work together to teach these students that no one is above the law.

You wouldn’t look into a child’s face and tell them that sometimes it’s OK not to follow the law, would you?

Oftentimes you don’t have to say it. They can just see what you are doing.

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