[August
02, 2013]Almost a dozen people arrived at
Chester-East Lincoln on Wednesday for a special meeting of the Board
of the Education. The board members present were Kenny Golden, Ben
Roland and Jason Toft, along with Superintendent Jennifer Hamm.
Guests included former board members Larry Hall and Leslie Starasta,
as well as several teachers at the school.
Hamm stepped away briefly to call and see if the board president,
Jeff Brooks, would be arriving. It was established prior to the
meeting that Randy Wolf and Tish Podunajec had other obligations for
the evening. Lori Birnbaum said at a previous meeting that she was
not sure of her schedule.
Hamm returned to tell everyone present that the meeting had to be
canceled due to the lack of a quorum, as Brooks could not make it
either. A quorum for the board is four, or over half of the total
members. Multiple people pointed out that Brooks authorized the
meeting agenda, and they questioned why he was not in attendance.
Because of the lack of a quorum, which is the minimum number of
board members required to pass a vote, no action items could be
voted on. The board members present could only discuss any remaining
matters in a closed session or hear from the public.
Jill Urish, a second-grade teacher at CEL, informed those present
that through an online fundraiser, she has raised $1,005 to purchase
iPads for her classroom. Urish used a website called
DonorsChoose.org, which allows those who visit it to donate money to
individual school-oriented projects. The iPads will be considered
school property. Urish thanked those who donated money for her
cause.
With only action items remaining on the agenda and no legal way
to vote on them, the open meeting came to a close.
Hamm apologized to everyone who came to the meeting. She also
wished to apologize to those employees who could have been approved
for hiring with a vote, had there been a quorum, one of whom was a
kindergarten teacher.
"I'm embarrassed at how we have treated new hires at recent board
meetings," said Hamm.
Larry Hall added that when he was on the board, it was always
ensured before the meeting that there would be a quorum.
Roland said that the business the board needed to vote on is
high-priority, as the action items listed on the agenda included the
posting for a new first-grade position and the rehiring of the
part-time cooks.
The meeting ended with board members unsure as to what the date
would be for another special meeting.
