The Mineola Board of Education’s plans to conduct a private retreat on Monday has drawn criticism from former Mineola school board Trustee Irene Parrino – and a sharp reaction from board members to Parrino’s objections.
In a letter sent to board members and members of the local media, Parrino said she had been contacted by community members who expressed concerns about the purpose of the private meeting and the absence of an agenda.
Parrino, who lost her seat in the May school board election, said she shares those concerns in her letter.
“I am having a hard time seeing any excuse for the board to meet in private,” Parrino wrote in the Aug. 19 letter. “Considering that for the first time in a number of years that the board is allegedly comprised of like-minded individuals having a board retreat to discuss interpersonal relationships is a contrived excuse to justify meeting in private to discuss school district business.”
Parrino also questioned the cost of the meeting and concluded by urging the board to meet in public.
Newly elected board President Artie Barnett defended the private meeting, saying a meeting open to the public would defeat the purpose of the retreat.
“It was done publicly. This year we’ve had two new members on the board. At least one of them approached me and said she had issues to discuss that were not appropriate in public,” Barnett said.
Barnett said governance issues that board member want to discuss are “proper for a retreat” and the retreat would be of no cost to the district. He said issues concerning contract negotiations with the teacher’s aides and bus drivers and janitors that also will be discussed would normally be addressed in closed executive session.
“This isn’t about backroom politics. I don’t know what it is we would hatch behind closed doors,” Barnett said. “I’m one of the biggest advocates of open meetings.”
He said a representative of the New York State School Boards Association with whom he consulted assured him that school boards commonly hold annual private retreats.
Jay Worona, general counsel of the New York State School Boards Association said private retreats are “common practice” among school boards statewide.
“If the discussion is to put the board members on the same playing field on contract negotiations, that would fall under training and training could be done in a retreat,” he said.
But Robert Freeman, executive director of the Committee on Open Government, said private discussions of contract negotiations could only be done in the context of an open meeting.
“If they’re discussing collective bargaining negotiations, they would have to go into executive session,” Freeman said. “But they could only go into an executive session during an open meeting.”
The Committee on Open Government, which is a unit of the New York State Department of State, states on its Web site that private discussions of a local governing body are limited to contract negotiations, issues of public safety, litigation, discussion of the medical, financial, credit ore employment history of a particular person or corporation employed or doing business with the government entity, acquisition of real property or securities, information that could compromise a criminal investigation, and preparation, grading or administration of examinations.
In the e-mail received by Blank Slate Media, Parrino referred to the retreat as a “secret” meeting.
“We’ve done this all publicly. To use the word ‘secret’ is silly,” said Mineola school board vice president Christine Napolitano.
Napolitano said the board members had consulted the school board attorney and were told the protocol of holding a private retreat to discuss governance issues was appropriate.
“Particularly after certain things that happened with the board last year, we thought it would be good for board members to understand how to operate,” Napolitano said, referring to an exchange of e-mails between board members that resulted in the resignation of former board Vice President Terence Hale.
Freeman and Worona disagreed on whether a discussion of e-mail practices would be a violation of the state’s open meetings law.
“If they’re talking about policy, I think the open meetings law would apply,” Freeman said.
But Worona said, “If there’s a protocol about the way they do e-mail communications in their district, that comes under training.”
Hale’s resignation followed a formal complaint to the state commissioner of education by Parrino, requesting Hale’s removal from the board for what she termed “inappropriate” e-mails that were “derogatory” and “demeaning.”
Board Trustee Patricia Navarra, who handily defeated Parrino in the May election, declined to comment on Parrino’s objections to the private retreat.
Attempts to reach board Trustee Nicole Matzer, who was selected by board members to replace Hale, were unavailing.
