Groveport Madison school board’s own members claim it violated open meeting laws

GROVEPORT, Ohio (WCMH) – The Groveport Madison school board has been accused of holding secret committee meetings, inadequately recording meeting minutes and unlawfully entering into executive session – by members of its own board.

The school board – save for board members Kathleen Walsh and John Kershner – voted Wednesday night to appoint counsel in a lawsuit against the board for violations of Ohio’s Open Meetings Act. Walsh and Kershner filed the lawsuit in late March, claiming the board has violated laws about public bodies multiple times over the past year.

The board voted to appoint counsel without comment, then immediately entered an executive session to discuss the complaint with attorneys. Walsh and Kershner were not invited to the executive session. The board declined to comment to NBC4.

Walsh and Kershner’s complaint points to multiple instances dating back to July 2023 in which, they claim, the board’s actions flout state requirements for meetings of public bodies. Many center around proper record-keeping of board meetings.

At a July 19 meeting, the board entered into executive session without providing a reason to do so, in apparent violation of the Open Meetings Act. A board meeting in August confirmed the board knew what it had done was wrong, the complaint argued, as the board approved a motion to amend the July 19 agenda to add a reason to enter executive session.

“It’s a technical point, but in the interest of fidelity and transparency, Mr. Bower would like to correct it,” the August meeting agenda reads, referring to the board’s vice president, Seth Bower. “Legal Council informed the board this would clear the procedural defect from the July 19th board meeting.”

Franklinton murder suspect originally arrested for another crime

At the time the lawsuit was filed, according to exhibits attached to the complaint, July 19 meeting minutes on the board’s school district webpage reflected this change. The meeting minutes available via BoardDocs – which many districts use to post agendas and minutes – did not. The BoardDocs agenda has been updated with the amendment as of Thursday.

The complaint argues the meeting minute amendment amounts to two violations of the Open Meetings Act – failing to state a reason to enter executive session, and then amending the minutes to make them “intentionally inaccurate.” But it’s not the only time the board improperly entered executive session, the complaint alleges; the board did so in October without calling a vote.

The lawsuit points to broader issues with how minutes reflect what happened in the meetings. At a July 7 meeting, for instance, Walsh came with a prepared statement objecting to a contract for the district’s treasurer. She requested her written complaint be attached to the minutes, the lawsuit claims, but it wasn’t.

The board meeting minutes only say that she read a statement “regarding the proposed contract.”

Two former Circleville police chiefs to resign with nearly $70,000 payout after allegations

“This is the board’s practice of not always including all of Walsh’s dissenting statements in the Board’s record,” the complaint reads.

Walsh voiced her concerns about the board’s recordkeeping practices at the July 19 meeting. According to meeting minutes, Walsh raised concerns about minutes prepared for the three previous board meetings, saying they lacked specific details about board deliberations.

Board President LaToya Dowdell-Burger replied that the board meetings were video-recorded.

Walsh and Kershner also claim that the board’s policy committee met secretly in 2023, then in July of that year, the board moved to reclassify the committee as a “superintendent’s committee” that isn’t held to the same public meeting requirements. The complaint contends the board did so “to willfully evade the OMA and transparency.”

On BoardDocs, there are no policy committee meeting agendas available – nor any evidence of the meetings – in 2023, or in any year dating back to 2010. The first policy committee meeting posted to the district BoardDocs happened on Tuesday.

One dead after southeast Columbus fire destroys home

More recently, the lawsuit argues the board failed to give proper notice of a Feb. 16 meeting. The meeting, which typically occurs on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, happened that Friday. The lawsuit claims the date on the website was not corrected until a resident told the board during public comment that he came to the meeting venue that Wednesday and found an empty building.

At that Feb. 16 meeting, which the lawsuit claims should have been rescheduled due to the lack of a proper 24-hour notice, the board voted on the renewal of the superintendent’s contract. But several terms of the contract had changed since the last public discussion, the lawsuit argues.

When Kershner asked about the changes, the lawsuit claims that Dowdell-Burger said that she had surveyed several board members beforehand. That amounts to private deliberation on the contract, the lawsuit argues, deliberation that should have occurred in public.

The school board has retained Columbus firm Organ Law. According to Organ Law’s letter to the district, which was included in meeting materials, the representation will include defense in the lawsuit and “the prosecution of potential claims” against Walsh and Kershner.

The five attorneys of the firm will charge the district hourly rates between $295 and $495, according to meeting materials.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.