Press Assocation Questions Dist 204 email

[insider]

Press association questions District 204 e-mail chain
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 6/2/2010 8:53 PM
www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=385303

While Indian Prairie school board members debate the wisdom and legality of board President Curt Bradshaw's payroll tax setoff plan, the Illinois Press Association has weighed in on another aspect of the proposal.

Interim Director of Government Relations Josh Sharp said Bradshaw may have violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the state's Open Meetings Act by attempting to garner the support of other Unit District 204 board members outside of public view.

Sharp reviewed the e-mail Bradshaw sent to individual board members and said such efforts to formulate policy outside the public view raises red flags.

"I would like to put this on the consent agenda for June 7 and work out any kinks beforehand so we don't need to use meeting time discussing it," Bradshaw wrote to fellow board members concerning his legislative proposal.

Sharp said Bradshaw would have been better served picking up the phone, but the public is better served by open debate at board meetings.

"Working out kinks and discussion to gather consent is precisely what meeting time is for," Sharp said Wednesday. "Those conversations are not suited for an e-mail chain that may or may not be a violation of the Open Meetings Act."

Neither Bradshaw nor the school district's attorneys responded to calls Wednesday for their opinions on Sharp's comments, but Sharp did not hesitate to reiterate his.

"If you're asking me if this e-mail, even if only sent to individual board members, is a violation, again I say yes," Sharp said. "And it's certainly no way to run a school board."

[Arch]

Uh.. woops.. It was said early on that this was a bad idea from the word go. Let someone else run with their agenda at the IASB level and don't be the pawn who keeps sticking their neck out, risking any future political aspirations in the process. For instance, running for State Govt and being met with "Hey, weren't you the guy who kept trying to find a way to withhold money from the state?"

That will go over real nice.

[EagleDad]

I believe Curt is now intiately familiar with the phrase Thrown Under the Bus.

Welcome to the club Curt, it happens with this crew. We have T-Shirts for club members. They are Orange ;D