A three-judge panel of Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court has sided with Jarrett Coleman (now a State Senator) in his contention that Parkland School District violated Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act in 2021. It did so when it approved a collective bargaining agreement with its teachers' union without first giving the public 24 hours of advance notice. The school district did advertise the meeting and an agenda, but failed to include the agreement giving teachers a raise.
"“Today’s decision is a huge victory for government transparency,” Senator Coleman said. “What this decision means is that the public has a right to have advance notice of actions its government will consider taking before every meeting.”
The Sunshine Act does permit agencies like Parkland School District to amend agendas, but only for emergencies and de minimis matters.
Coleman also asked the court to invalidate the agreement because of the violation, but the court noted that invalidating an official action for a Sunshine Act violation is discretionary, not automatic.
Coleman's lawsuit against Parkland was filed by Attorney J. Chadwick Schnee. Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA) also filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Coleman’s position.
8 comments:
Announced right after the School Board election, where the incumbent slate ran on "transparency." What a coincidence.
What is the remedy for this infraction? What does the law allow under these circumstances?
I don’t know what’s more reprehensible:
That Parkland School District did this in the first place; or
That they tried to defend their actions all the way to Commonwealth Court?
Those involved in either of those decisions should lose their jobs.
Thanks to Senator Coleman for standing up for the taxpayers!
If, nothing else, the board solicitor should be terminated by the district & punished by whatever legal authority overseas board solicitors for this. He/She advises the board and if they were violating the Act, the board solicitor should warn them. The solicitor is either ignorant or complicit; both of which are unethical for a practicing attorney and should be disciplined.
I suppose it's possible the solicitor did warn them and they ignored it. If that's the case, every board member in on it should resign and any administrator in on it should also resign and forfeit a percentage of their pension.
Concerned Citizen 9:49 -
I don't know what the remedy is but my suggestions should be the penalty.
I don’t know it seems a little tricky tacky to me. They complied but didn’t provide full details.
Here in Northampton County the voting machines didn’t work. Moodys just downgraded the country’s credit rating citing deficits and political polarization. The White House blamed republicans for it lol. Government is incompetent at every level federal, state, local, all of it. It doesn’t matter what letter is after their name.
Sounds like a lot of nonsense brought on by someone who wants to get noticed. People love to bash unpaid school board members for trying to perform their duties. At worse the school board made an honest and pretty inconsequential mistake. What will this lawsuit cost the tax payer?
That’s a great question to ask the superintendent, solicitor and the board that not only committed this illegal act, but then fought it all the way up to Commonwealth Court.
Many, if no most, school board members are lackeys of the communist teachers' unions.
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