East Central Reporter

A government oversight group is questioning the legitimacy and rationale of a cease and desist letter that was sent to Jasper County board member Jed Earnest earlier this year.

"This letter was purportedly approved by the school board, but we could find no meeting minutes with any board action authorizing a cease and desist letter for anything," the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) posted on their Illinois Leaks website recently. "Please remember that the board can do nothing without a majority vote (according to their own policies), which leaves us wondering if this truly was a board action or a vengeful act by the school superintendent and one or more board members acting outside their authority."

Earnest got the letter from the Jasper County School District #1 Board of Trustees after he allegedly sent an email to non-board members that the Effingham Daily News reported contained sensitive information about a student. The message was then leaked onto social media.

Jed Earnest | http://www.cusd1.jasper.k12.il.us

Following the incident, Earnest was denied electronic access to school information, which the ECW argues was a violation of not only his civil rights but the rights of the people as well.

"By refusing to provide the information this board member needs to do his elected job, he is put in a disadvantage to other board members who have immediate access to the very information he is being denied," the group posted. "Every voter in this school district is being denied their 14th amendment right, a civil right, to vote and to have their vote count. A vote does not count when the elected public official is denied the tools needed to accomplish his elected duties while other board members have those tools."

Several residents came to the board to object to Earnest's presence after details of the email were revealed.

"We don't need someone like him on the board," one retired employee said, according to the Effingham Daily News.