It took 20 months, but the Edgar County Watchdogs' (ECW) finally got confirmation from the state that the Neoga Community Unit School District No. 3 board violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) at its January 2016 meeting that drew a standing-room-only crowd.
The Attorney General Public Access Counselor determined that the board failed to post the meeting's agenda as required, nor did it properly post its annual meeting dates, the ECW said.
"Can anyone explain why we are able to comprehend and apply the law related to Open Meetings Act obligations yet School Administrators drawing healthy taxpayer funded paychecks continue to get it wrong?" the ECW posted on its Illinois Leaks website. "Not only is this an Administrator problem, I think it’s safe to assume the mandated training for School Board members is clearly not working."
Edgar County Watchdogs co-founder Kirk Allen
The special meeting of the school board was called after the one-year expulsion of a high school senior under the zero-tolerance policy. More than 100 concerned citizens attended the meeting in support of the student, who had accidentally left his rifle in the back seat of his car after a hunting trip the previous day. He parked his car on school grounds, which triggered a zero tolerance expulsion.
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