001Good evening everyone. Thank you for being here. It is Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 and this is the Hamilton City School Board of Education meeting. Mr. Frasier, would you like to call the role? Dr. Hopkins >> here. >> Mr. Davidson >> present. >> Dr. Copus >> here. >> Miss Manuso >> here. >> And I'll make a note for the minutes that President Matthews is absent this evening. >> Thank you. All right. Our first agenda item is a New York Life grant for our companions on a journey support. Mrs. Blevens. >> Yes. Thank you, uh, Vice President Hopkins. Uh tonight I want to call up our uh supervisor of mental health, Mrs. Alex Santino to uh talk about this awesome grant that's going to help support our kiddos here in the district. Alex, >> Thank you so
002much. I do have a bit of an entourage if I could ask you guys to come join me because they have something very exciting to show us. Um, tonight I have the privilege of introducing you all to our partners at New York Life. Uh, they have a grief sensitive schools initiative that is run nationally. Um and if I have my details correct, I do believe that our district is actually the largest donation that they have given to date to a single district. Uh because of our coordination and collaboration with them to train our entire staff on ensuring that we have every staff member um as uh grief informed and um sensitive to our students needs and to their own family needs. Um as grief is a universal life experience and it does touch us all
003um throughout our lifespan. Um, and we were so fortunate to have that opportunity come to us through our longestablished partners of Companions on a Journey. Um, who actually is going to benefit um, from this wonderful grant to ensure that we have continued and consistent support for all of our students who are experiencing grief through all of our schools across the district. And that grief supports follows them as um, you know, if they happen to need that in kindergarten, it can go all the way through 12th grade. And then um companions on a journey actually has additional supports in the community as well um so that can follow them into the adulthood and they also have wonderful supports for those families as well. So lots of collaboration to ensure that funding for wonderful initiatives continues and
004to ensure that our staff is supportive so that they can also support our students. So we just have a celebration um and I believe they have a check to present to us as well. Carol Merrill showing it off for you guys. So, it's our honor to present a check to Hamilton City Schools in the amount of $6,500 from the New York Life Foundation to as mentioned to help support the grief sensitive schools. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> I just want to share it's a privilege and honor to serve your students. One in 10 children that before the age of 18 will suffer the death of a parent or a sibling. And the stats too when we look at how it puts the youth at higher risk. Um one in four students
005who die by suicide have lost someone. And so the work that we do is very important and it is such an honor that you guys honor children so that no child breathes along. I thank you for that. >> Beautiful. >> Yes. I just want to share on behalf of our district how important uh this resource is to our families. Uh the stats are there, but unfortunately, you know, both as a student and an adult, I've lost people very close uh to me to both suicide and to other pieces and your services help walk our kids through that. And so they don't uh you know fall to some of the victims of of traumatic grief and I cannot thank you uh for the services you provide but also the funding. A lot of people think, you
006know, when you think of a school system, it's the reading, it's the writing, it's it's all of our curricular components. However, if our kids don't feel well in their body or in their mind or in their spirit, they don't feel safe, nothing, no learning takes place. So, your donation from New York Life is so vital to the success of this program and will allow us to serve so many youth uh here in our community. So, thank you on behalf of our district. Mrs. Blevens, just a comment. Mrs. Santino, um, death is of course hard for anyone to to to deal with, but I just want to say the support structures that the Hamilton City Schools have in place is truly wonderful. And not only do we support our own students and help them in times
007of need, you know, we've also helped other schools and school districts. So, I I can't tell you enough. Thank you. I truly I appreciate it as an individual, as a board member, and and it will help us do great things in our district. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> All right. Our next agenda item is our spotlight with Mrs. Weissro. Hi, good afternoon. Um, this is an exciting exciting night um for our spotlights. We actually get to recognize a handful of people today. Um, but one of my favorite parts here is to recognize first um one of our students, Mr. Jude Yordy um from the Hamilton High main campus. I've got quite a bit of write up here um for to to read about Mr. Yordy um and all the the accolades
008that go along with him. I'm sure this could be a book if I if we just kept going on it. I mean, he's just that good of a young man. I even received another email today, just recently today, about his impact with helping with um the literature program that was out there at Highland um and how he took part in that. So, they're just even accolades just keep coming, Jude. And that says a lot about you. So, let me read this the student highlight for Jude Yordy. Jude Yordy is the kind of student leader who makes a school better by simply being in it. As a respected leader at Hamilton High School, Jude brings energy, maturity, and a steady presence to everything he is a part of. He consistently leads with a focus on bringing
009people together, building school pride, and making sure others feel included and supported. As senior class president and a key leader in student council, Jude has taken on meaningful responsibilities that shape the student experience. He has helped ma manage grant requests, played an important role in planning senior activities such as sunrise and sunset events and supported major school traditions like spirit week and homecoming parade. Jude is not someone who waits to be told what needs to happen. He steps up. He organizes. He communicates clearly and follows through. One of Jude's most impressive strengths is how he represents Hamilton High School beyond the walls of the building. Jude is a truster ambassador, a trusted ambassador and a visible leader who regularly leads tours for multiple groups visiting from outside the school. In these moments, he confidently highlights
010the programs, opportunities, and culture at HHS with professionalism and pride. Whether he is speaking to the community partners, prospective families or visiting organizations, Jude consistently demonstrates the poise and leadership of someone who is prepared for the next level. And right before he came in, I did remember he um actually received a $250 scholarship from the Butler County ESC for his presentation at AI a couple months ago. Wasn't that correct? >> Yeah, it was pretty neat. He was very well talked about. Jude's leadership is also reinforced through his long-term commitment to athletics and teamwork. He has completed competed as a four-year varsity golfer, a three-year varsity swimmer. In both programs, June earned the Steve Shuck sportsman award, reflecting the respect he has earned through his integrity, humility, and the way he treats others. Beyond school and
011athletics, Ju Jude is a serviceoriented students student who gives back to the community. He has served as junior achievement teacher, supporting third grade students as they build important skills in financial literacy and confidence. He has also been involved in youth philanthropy, helping contribute to real community impact through studentled service. Jude Yord stands out not only for what he has accomplished, but for how he accomplishes it. He leads with character, represents his high school with pride, and consistently uses his voice and effort to create positive experiences for others. Hamilton High School is stronger because of Jude's leadership and I would say the Hamilton City School District as well and his future will just be will be that impactful. Jude, we thank you very much for doing things the Hamilton way from your entire career and we
012want to recognize you tonight. >> Come on up. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. >> Would you like to say anything? Um, I'd just like to thank, you know, school board, um, Mrs. Blevens, Mrs. Wro for, um, honoring me tonight and whoever wrote this. This is great. I could not have put it any better. Um, I'd like to thank my family, my parents, my sister, my grandparents. I'd like to thank my swim coaches, Miss Wagner and, um, Mrs. Atkins for um, mentoring me and forming me into the leader I am today. And finally, I'd like to thank this district. Um, I've had the opportunity to go to a different district and I'm so happy that I chose this district and I would choose it every single day and I'm proud that I can represent this
013district for the rest of my life. Thank you guys. >> Jude, I just on behalf of our district, um, you know, I remember you with your bow ties in elementary school the first day. uh this was the sharpest dresser when he was a student and he stood out then as a young elementary student and just to watch your journey and your maturity and your poise and your care for those around you. You're the character that we work to build and I know that doesn't happen overnight. I know your parents are here and your grandparents, but we are so proud of you. We are so proud of you because you are what we fight for every day. We we wake up all of our teachers, all of our staff to work with amazing kids just like
014you. And on top of all of the accolades there, you did something that very few students are able to say. You stood up in front of our entire staff to kick off this school year. And your words were inspiring. They were real. And they talked about the quality of education that you've gotten here in Hamilton City Schools. So, I cannot thank you for being an ambassador more for being an ambassador to this district and this town. And I will tell you, if if Jude Yordi is the future, we are going to be just fine. So, thank you for all that you're doing. >> Dr. Copus, >> I can. Would you like me to? Is that okay to do now? Okay. >> I know mom and dad and Dr. Copus, would you like me to join
015join me for the second spotlight, please? >> Sure. Save my storm after I call them up and then >> Okay, >> our second spotlight this evening um deserves a a lot of accolades truthfully for the folks that that are here in the room that we'd like to honor. Um it it's vitally important that a school district has people that we're able to to share share out, right? Bring down the walls of of what's going on in our district and push out all the great things that we have going on out there. And just to recognize that and we have great partnerships um within this city with quite a few folks. So this evening, what we want to do is make sure that we recognize those, say thank you from the bottom of our hearts, keep
016doing the great work that you're doing because we've got a lot of great things that are going on in this district. The Hamilton City School District recently named the following individuals. Mr. Jeff Archbal, TV Hamilton, Mr. Steve Cwell, TV Hamilton. Mr. Trace Fowler, Hamilton Hamiltonian Magazine. Mr. Sean Spurlock, Hamiltonian Magazine, and Mr. Michael Pitman, the Hamilton Journal News to the Ohio School Boards Association 2025 Media Honoral. The Media Honoral recognizes media representatives statewide for fair and balanced reporting of news about public schools. Media representatives from more than a 100 Ohio newspapers and radio and television stations are honored by their local school districts. Criteria for this selection by the local school district include the media representatives efforts to get to know the superintendent, board president, and district mission and goals. Report school news in a
017fair, accurate, and balanced manner. Give a high-profile to positive news about schools, visit the schools, and maintain a policy of no surprises by sharing information with school officials. OSBA sends personalized certificates, which we're going to hand you here in a second. And yes, Steve, you have to come up here to school boards to help them honor reporters, editors, and news outlets. OSBA also recognizes the honores in its journal magazine and on its website. Founded in 1955, OSBA leads the way to educational excellence by serving Ohio's public school board members in the diverse districts they represent throughout superior service, unwavering unwavering a advocacy, and creative solutions. So, at this time, I would like to honor you guys and have you guys come up. Steve, I'm sorry I don't have arrow. I know I promised that, but
018come on up. We'd like to recognize you. We are also going to give you >> Oops. A Hamilton mug here so that when you're out and about, you can rock us in the in the community with our district here. >> This one belongs to you. Thank you, sir. Appreciate everything you've done. Steve, this is yours. And you know, Miss Wisro, I know Steve is kind of a shy and timid kind of guy, but it's hard to believe he used to be a Harley-Davidson writer. >> We've got him on camera now, don't >> Yeah, I know. Mr. Spurlock, thank you for everything. You know, I I remember when you were just a little kid playing little league baseball. You also, Mr. Fowler, thank you for supporting the district. There you go. And Mr. Pitman, you're certainly
019You might be last, but certainly not least. We appreciate everything you've done for us. Thank you very much. Appreciate everything. Thank you, Mrs. Weisbro. If we could uh Steve, before you slink back behind that camera, we would like to get a picture of you guys over in front of You want with the board, Jesse, or with Okay, so if we could have our board members come right up here, we'll get a picture. Uh while you're making your way up here, I just want to thank each of you as partners. Uh there are times when uh media can be very helpful and there are times when um you know those that coverage isn't always great and this group of individuals has been phenomenal in helping to tell our story here in Hamilton and I really thank
020you for helping to get out the great things happening. We only give them their hands for >> Thank you. Don't feel like you have to stay. The rest of our meeting is very >> include me. >> Sorry, Steve. All right, the next item on the agenda is a discussion that Mr. Mike Wright will lead us through on NIL proposed policy adjustments. >> Yeah. So, uh, thank you, Vice President Hopkins. As you all are aware, um, recently the, uh, state of Ohio and the OSAA, uh, made some adjustments to the name, image, and likeness, um, policies for school districts in Ohio and have the opportunity to make money from their name, image, or likeness. Um so one of the things uh obviously working with Dave um Lampy here today since um he's here we we kind
021of worked through this process um many of our board policies already covered um everything for our students for our coaches for our staff members. Um but one of the things that we felt like needed to be addressed was um our district support organizations. Um so if you look at that document, there are two bold um and underlined sections at the bottom of our board policy um which addresses that and it says no district support organization shall engage in donation or fundraising activities to create name image and likeness or personnel personal branding right opportunities for student athletes at the Hamilton City School District. Um, and then also, no district support organization shall provide or facilitate student athletes of the Hamilton City School District with individual sponsorships, endorsement deals, and other ways to monetize their NIL personal
022branding rights. Um, and I know uh Dr. Copus actually attended uh a meeting that I attended with Missy Harvey, our athletic director, and our um our head coaches. Um, this is really um kind of handsoff for the school district completely. Everything that's done with this new NIL policy is between the student, the family, and the OSAA. So, the school district should not be involved in any way. Um, the other thing that we will be looking at is our district um athletic handbook um and adding some additional language kind of covering these same sorts of things within the handbook. Um, and that'll come to you in the spring uh later in the spring when we approve all of our our district handbooks. Uh but we did just want to get this in front of you so
023you can see that these are um the proposed policy changes and at the next board meeting we would have those on uh for approval. >> The only two changes >> those are the only two changes on this particular policy. Yes. >> I'm looking at a up on the first page. Mhm. >> I know some of our coaches are paid by like their I think football some of the football coaches are being paid by fundraising. That would prohibit him, wouldn't it? Okay. School employees of board approve school volunteers but not drinking. I believe that would prohibit it. This is existing language. Um so if that's something you want us to look at um Mr. Davidson, I think that we probably need to look at that then. So I will make note and since Mr. Lampy's here.
024We can we can take a look at that language um prior to our next board meeting. >> You know, Mr. Wright and Dave, thanks for pointing that out or at least bringing that up. Might be an appropriate time to do that. I think I just read an article recently where the big blue baseball is having a camp or something for youth and you know hopefully that's won't be an issue for that. So, but anyway, thank you for looking into that. I I think what what this comes down to, so like obviously like camps and things like that, if you're making money and it's going back into the baseball program, that is fine. Okay. >> Um but as far as um school employees or board approved school volunteers being compensated by those, I think that's the
025question that we probably need to address. do think it's important to note on this topic too, there is a newly introduced uh piece of legislation by uh Senator Bird trying to eliminate NIL back from high school athletes. So, we'll kind of see how that plays out, but we do want to update our policy with what the current law states and just know we'll continue to update you. But there there has been in the last week recent legislation that was introduced uh in the Senate to try to eliminate NIL from high school level sports. And one of the things that I will tell you just obviously as this came out kind of investigating some of this um Ohio was kind of on the tail end of this um there's about 80% of states that have some
026sort of NIL policy for high school athletes. So >> Mr. Wright, just a question. Is it correct to say currently that Hamilton does not have any athletes involved in this currently? >> Correct. Now, I I wouldn't say that that's not going to continue into the future because I do know that um in Butler County at least >> um I know that as soon as this came out, there were some immediate impacts in other school districts. So, um I think it is going to be something that um you know, families and athletes are going to try to take advantage of. >> Well, it ruined college sports. I just hope it doesn't ruin high school. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. The rich will get richer and the poor will suffer worse. And you know, I know I'll
027get some criticism for this statement, but does anyone play for love of the game anymore or is it just for money and personal branding? Now, >> any other questions for discussion? All right. Our next agenda item is the facilities dedication committee. Mr. Wright. >> Yeah. So this actually also came up uh here um recently. Um obviously you know we have had a couple facilities that we've dedicated um within the past year. One of them being uh Garfield um gymnasium and then the blue room. Uh so one of the things that uh was proposed and I think um partially uh by you as board members as well as um some of our administrators is creating a committee um that would basically take uh nominations for these sort of events. Um and this could be anything from
028athletic facilities um libraries, buildings, um you know whatever anything that's on district property. um we we that we are going to be dedicating you as board members obviously um have that right and that decision to decide when and if that takes place. Um but one of the things that has come out of this is we believe that there needs to be a committee um put together to determine what are the actual policies, guidelines and provisions um for those nominations as well as then determining okay um would this qualify for a potential opportunity for us to name um a facility or a building or a location within the district. Um, I did speak with Missy Harvey, um, because obviously this some of this comes from athletics, uh, most recently, uh, but I also spoke to a
029couple of our principles. Um, I think the they would be very interested in having a couple, um, administrative representatives, um, and potentially a couple teacher representatives andor staff member representatives. Uh if any of you as board members would be interested in serving on that committee, um we're kind of modeling it after our hall of fame committee um our athletic hall of fame uh where we have some uh administrators that are involved with that, some former teachers andor staff, some community members. Um I think we want to keep this number not, you know, we don't want 20 people on the on the committee. Um but I do think it needs to be representative of the community. um both both present and past I think is important because a lot of these dedication uh opportunities are going
030to come from people who have uh done things contributed in the past in the district. Um so it needs to be representative of the community. Uh so I just wanted to throw that out there. Um, obviously if you have questions about that or if you have comments, um, or if any of you are interested in serving on that committee, um, I think we're going to try to use this spring to develop those kind of rules, regulations, and provisions. And then as we go into next school year, 2627, then we would start taking our first nominations for uh, possible facility dedications. >> Mr. Wright, I I think that's a great idea, and I'm not sure which board member suggested that. I think it might have been Mr. Davidson that actually brought that up a while ago.
031But I would tell you, Mrs. Blevens and Mr. Wright, I'd love to serve on the committee. So, consider me when that time comes around. >> To date, what has the process been for doing these types of dedications? I I'm guessing just as it comes, it's been different, but >> yeah, I don't I don't think it's been there's not been kind of a committee approach. It's really been, I think, presented to you as board members. um and then uh it's determined at that point whether to decide to do it or not. So I think part of the the thought process with this committee was um now that we've had a few things recently that have been named, >> there seems to be kind of an influx of individuals who are saying, "Oh, well, we should do
032this. We should do this. We should do this. We should name this this." So I think again trying to create that committee. Um, and again, kind of if you model it after kind of what's done with the athletic hall of fame, I mean, there's a lot of people who have competed as athletes at Hamilton High, there's 10 who are basically awarded that opportunity to become the Hall of Fame each year. So, I think the same thing would follow with this is there's a lot of people who are going to have recommendations or feelings that this particular person should be recognized in some way. Um I think that as a committee then kind of making that determination to then again still be would be recommended to the school board and then ultimately you as the five
033board members would have the right to to determine >> we need a committee. >> Yes. >> That y >> I appreciate the vetting process and just formalizing the process for sustainability reasons. Um, I think it also will lend to transparency, too, as you continue to feel more and more requests for dedication. So, I think this is a great idea. Um, and the approach that you're taking to be representative of the community, that sounds fantastic, and I'm really excited to see what comes out of this. >> Well, what I will do is, uh, Dr. Dr. Copas, I'll actually kind of probably schedule a meeting with yourself, Missy, um, and a couple other individuals to start forming that committee. Um, and then try to determine, you know, exactly who the members are going to be, uh, representative
034of that committee. Any other questions or comments? Okay. >> All right. So, the next agenda item is board member roles and responsibilities as presented by Bricker Graden. Miss Blevens. >> Yes. Thank you, Miss Hopkins. Um, tonight we actually have our main legal counsel here tonight. Uh, Mr. Dave Lampy, who came, you know, as you know, we had two new board members join us in January. Thank you for joining our board. Um, and each time that we bring new members on, it's always important. We've done this in a variety of ways. Sometimes we've had Ohio school boards come in and do this presentation, but we thought uh with our legal council here and with us, you know, spending time to onboard already, this would be a great opportunity for Mr. Lampy to come in and to
035present tonight and to answer any questions. This really is this is a work session item. So, you know, having that back and forth asking questions, I did pass on some of the topics that our board has asked to be addressed during this presentation. And so, I'll give the floor to Mr. Lampy. Do you have presentation? >> I do. Do you want me to cast it? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Do you want to do it? It should be linked on that. >> Oh, it didn't open. >> Okay. Downloading. >> There it goes. You got it. Yeah. >> We If you just want to let us know and he'll Okay. >> Okay. Well, thanks folks for having me. Um I see a couple new faces. Um my name is Dave Lampy. I'm with uh Bricker uh
036Grad and Wyatt. Now, um I have done this presentation uh several times for school boards. Um, I'm probably going to do highlevel stuff. Um, given the fact that I had some great stories to tell, but this is being recorded and I'm not going to, uh, maybe go into as much detail as I should. So, um, let's start with just kind of discussing kind of board member powers and duties. Um, you guys are Neiola obviously. Um, if you go through all these listed board policies, really it boils down to kind of in my opinion three main duties. Number one is to identify and employ a good superintendent and treasurer. Number two is going to be um making certain you make good fiscal decisions on the on the district's budget. And then the third is going to
037be to make certain that you adopt good policy. Um, you will hear from OSBA and I I agree with their sentiment that a lot of what school boards do is kind of that 30,000 ft overview in making macro decisions affecting the district, making certain you hire good leadership and making certain you make good fiscal decisions. Next slide. So, I also put in here some um red flags and these are things that we have seen either through case law um complaints to the Ohio Ethics Commission or unfair labor practice charges is really where these come from. Um first is going to be getting involved in day-to-day operations. Um ju generally speaking um this may be things such as board members showing up on a daily basis to uh central office spending significant time each and every
038day kind of in administrator's offices going through decisions and making the dayto-day decisions that folks like the superintendent, treasurer, assistant superintendent make on a day-to-day basis. Um, on the flip side of that is, um, would be board members not reviewing their policies, reviewing their agendas, making certain that you've done your homework, getting ready for board meetings. So, we've seen both sides of the spectrum on that. Um, third is going to be not evaluating and setting goals for the superintendent and treasurer. Um, your policies are very similar to most in that the policy states that each of these positions is to be evaluated annually. um and that there needs to be a goal setting process. Again, without getting into specifics, there may be school districts out there that that gloss over this. Um and it's it's
039it can be problematic. >> Mr. Lampy. >> Yes. >> Just a quick comment. I mean, of course, you're correct in what you're saying. Um I'm thankful to say that we've corrected that because for a brief period of time, I think we glossed over it and we should never have done that. We're not doing that currently. Uh we the board has set goals and reviews for our treasur and our superintendent and I'm thankful for that because I think now we're much better in compliance. >> Is that is that statute too? >> So the statute says for the superintendent and the treasurer um the board shall establish a policy for the evaluation of both positions. But it also says the establishment of an evaluation policy shall not create an expectancy of continued employment. So technically speaking, if
040a board fails to evaluate on an annual basis, it doesn't result in automatic reemployment like it would for um a principal or administrators that aren't employed under their statutes, but it's it's obviously best practice and it it's it should be followed. Um so second thing is going to be the board members authority. Um, these are the policies that I saw that that kind of cover what what a board member is supposed to do. First and foremost is obviously to vote only at board meetings. There's a statute that speaks to you need to be present and in person in order to be counted towards a quorum or to vote um to act pursuant to the authority granted by law or the board. Um, so I think most of us are probably aware that a board member
041does not have the authority to act unless authorized to do so. um that would even include a board president unless um the board president is specifically authorized to take action on behalf of the board. And I'm going to talk a little bit about social media um on that piece here in a second. Um to um access to records that has come up before. or I've had board members ask me, "Well, I'd like to review um you know, personnel files or I'd like to review student records." Personnel files are open to the public, generally speaking, unless there's a provision in a labor contract that somehow puts a restriction, which I've very rarely, if ever, seen. In fact, you can make a good argument that it's against uh the public records act. Um they're they're available to
042be inspected. Student records though are governed by FURPA. And Furpa says in order for a public official, including a board member or even an administrator, to review student records, you need to have a legitimate educational interest to do so. So, um, next slide. So, again, I got the red flags. Um, making comments that aren't within your sole authority. Um, that often times comes up when you have comments made to the media. Um, as you know, when you work with me, we always have a discussion about how we're going to handle anything controversial. Um, like most districts, normally school districts, if they're involved in any type of litigation, generally don't have any type of public comment, but if there are other things, um, I know that board policy says the board president is the spokesperson. Um,
043signing documents you're not authorized to sign. Um again, um only the board of education by statute can authorize a contract. Um from time to time, again, without getting into specifics, I have seen board members attempt to sign contracts to bind the board. Those those are not obviously binding unless approved by the board. Um entering buildings as a board member, um my district around here, I know, has gotten into some controversy over the past few years over board members making visitations. There's a policy that I'm going to talk about here in a second. Um, and then routinely requesting copies of application materials and personnel and student records. So, um, there is a statute that speaks to the hiring process for basically all employees other than those that report to the the treasurer. Um, the superintendent makes
044a recommendation for the hiring of teachers, the hiring of administrators, the hiring of classified personnel. Um, unless a board member is on a hiring committee, which is sometimes the the case, I normally have not seen board members get into um, reviewing application materials in in conjunction with hiring decisions. Next slide. Um, as far as board ethics and conflicts, um, the Ohio School Boards Association has a board member code of ethics. I've kind of summarized what I've seen as um at least in court cases, the ones that potentially could be um problematic um seeking privileges for personal benefit, that's going to be the Ohio ethics laws as far as um getting involved in recommendations to hire family members um to benefit business associates or um to to directly um benefit a board member. um criticizing employees
045publicly. I think this board has a practice of not publicly discussing personnel matters. Um that's obviously something that can be discussed in executive session. Um disclosing confidential and sensitive information. I'm going to talk about executive session here in a second. Um putting other interests before those of the district. So, if you look at what the Ohio Ethics Commission speaks to, they obviously are are interested in any type of financial dealings, but the Ohio Ethics Commission also speaks to um board members having a fiduciary duty, even if it's not a financial um um situation in which a board member is is getting some type of pecuniary benefit. The Ohio Ethics Commission will also say you have a fiduciary duty that at all times you need to make decisions that are in the best interest of the
046district. Um let's go to the next slide to kind of keep this in in time. Um so red flags obviously using the um position for personal benefit um using the position to benefit family members and the Ohio Ethics Commission defines that is a spouse, child, sibling, parents, grandparents or individuals related and living in the same home. Um using the position to benefit business associates and engaging in an unauthorized activity on behalf of the district. So, um, go back real quick, um, as far as the authority, um, of the position. One thing that I've seen, um, public officials and administrators understand, okay, if it is one of those family members, I obviously cannot vote as a board member on that. where I've seen from time to time um board members potentially get into problems is that
047the ethics law says um use the authority or influence of the position which the Ohio Ethics Commission has said not only can you not vote on a family member, you cannot behind the scenes lobby for a family member's hire, go to the superintendent and ask that a family member's application be considered or having a discussion in an executive session about the hiring of that individual. It goes beyond just simply refraining from voting, you actually have to divorce yourself completely of the entire process of hiring a family member. On the flip side, I if if your family member is already employed by the school district and as long as you are not involved in their hire, their retention or their compensation, it's perfectly permissible. The law the law does not state that you cannot have a
048family member employed by your school board. You just can't be involved in those types of aspects of their employment. Okay, next slide. Um, as far as board relationships, so I've already talked about the one of the main duties is to enact policies, to delegate management of day-to-day operations to the superintendent, fiscal operations to the treasurer, um, to present criticisms of employees, to bring them back to the superintendent or treasurer. Um, if the if the person is a direct report to the treasur, you are going to get emails from community members having a complaint about a teacher, having a complaint about a principal. Remember, we have a complaint process that that I'm going to cover here in a second. That all gets funneled back to the appropriate lowest level of authority to try to resolve that
049because at the end of the day, under policy, the board is the last line of appeal. So, we need to stay out of that until it's actually appealed back up to us. Next slide. Um, I've already talked about uh the the school visitations. Um, board members asking to review employment applications. I talked about that. Um, board members having significant discussions with staff on day-to-day activities. um that hypothetically speaking, um you could have a situation in which um a union uses the board's public complaint process to bring complaints about situations occurring in the school buildings through the complaint process rather than filing them through the grievance procedure and having administration handle that. hypo hypothetically speaking that that will be things that that obviously you need to let the the proper chain of command handle. Next slide.
050>> Going back to that last slide, the last one it said board members having significant discussions with staff regarding that. What's significant? Yeah, I I think obviously you need to be apprised of recommendations that are made especially for big hires and and big personnel type decisions. I think that speaks back to the um getting involved in day-to-day type operations and activities. You obviously need to hear what your community has to say. You pass that along in the chain of command to whomever the if it's the superintendent or HR. Um, but this goes back to just being there on a day-to-day basis and and kind of getting involved in decisions that otherwise would be made by the superintendent. >> And then it's you're saying that board members shouldn't go out annually and, you know, walk through
051a building and, you know, talk with teachers. >> Yeah, you you have that authority and I think we're going to talk about that here in a second. Um, but there's a proper procedure for that and we're going to follow it here. Um so um so you have policy on the line of communications. So if there's any type of communications that staff would like the board to consider that flows through the superintendent. Vice versa if the board needs to communicate with staff that again flows through the superintendent. Um and the next slide I think talks about um building visitations. Yeah. So if an individual board member is interested in visiting schools or classroom, they need to make an appropriate arrangement with the with the principal. The policy basically says that you guys are the same as
052a member of the school community or a parent. If you want to come into the the schools and and observe what's going on, you have the right to do so. You just need to schedule through the principal. Um if board members observe a situation or condition that causes concern, they need to discuss it with the superintendent. Um and then official visit. So if you you are doing an official visit of a school, that's that's normally done. The board votes on it, makes a motion to have some type of site visitation by board members. So >> is is that a blanket? uh the the very last line um to to go into something. Is that kind of a blanket thing in terms of board authorizing to go in or if if one of us is going
053by invitation to something like for instance we had a a a ceremony for our next dog and I think everyone was invited. But does that require board approval for >> No, I think that last bullet would be a situation in which the board is interested in something occurring on site and they would like one of the board as its representative to observe report back at a board meeting. I think that's that's what what that policy is speaking to. >> Thanks. Yeah, >> Dave, if I could add there, just our current practice, you right now when you go to visit a building, you let me know that you're going to be in the building that's compliant with our current policy. So, there's no change to that. This is if if there's maybe concerns brought to us
054about a particular building and our board wants to investigate that further, right? we would come up with a plan and take board action to make that investigation if you will or that process. But not just your normal visits going to check in, see what's going on in those buildings. The only piece that we ask is you communicate that prior. >> Well, I've made it a practice if I even if I take lunch over to my wife, >> I call Andre and say, "I'm going to be in the building." >> Yeah. Because I mean, you know how it is being a board member, people are going to be like, "Why is Mr. Davidson in the building?" is is is something going on with the board that we should be aware of. So just just having that
055advanced notice I think is is a good thing. Um so red flags on on this piece. This would be you know staff going to board members directly to address an issue. If you've got union leadership that are that are texting board members on issues that should be vetted through either building administration or the superintendent um or issues involving collective bargaining, those all could potentially be red flag issues. Um and you're you're fine. Um we can we can move forward. So, as I mentioned, there is a public complaint policy. Um, and that covers not only employment and personnel matters, services, operations, things along those lines. And if you look at the policy, it it instructs the public complaint to start at the lowest possible level. So, if it's a complaint about a teacher, it's supposed to
056start by having a discussion with the teacher. If that doesn't resolve the problem, then the next line of appeal is up to the building principal. If that still doesn't resolve the problem, it's appealed, I believe, to the superintendent or designate. Um, and then finally, if that doesn't resolve the problem, the board of education as a whole is the last line of appeal. And so that's where you have to be very careful because often times the public is not going to be aware of this policy, but they're going to be aware. You all sit on the board and they are going to send you an email saying, "This is what happened to me or my child. I have a complaint. How are you going to address it? And just be very careful on how you respond.
057It it should be something along the lines of obviously acknowledging it. Thank you for your email. Understand that we have a policy that addresses these types of complaints. I intend to forward this on to the superintendent who will facilitate you being able to get with the appropriate personnel um and just avoid making any comment or commentary about the issue. I've had several times where board members have said, "Well, here's my take on this, but we're going to put it back." Well, you've already kind of tipped your hand on the matter a little bit. Next slide. Um, and that this is reinforces it. Um, last year the parent bill of rights was enacted. Um, this had to do with any type of education involving sexuality content. I'm sure you were briefed on it. And I know
058Nola had a policy or any type of substantial change in um student services or health conditions, gender ideology, all of these kind of things. Uh the statute has a complaint procedure that starts with actually having the principal or assistant principal try to resolve the concern within 30 days. It's then appealed to the superintendent and the board of education is again designated as the last line of appeal. So, keeping um a proper chain of command and responding to this and and making certain that you all look at these issues with a fresh set of eyes is going to be important. Next slide. Um so, the open meetings act and sunshine law. Um understand that this obviously applies to schoolboard meetings, but it could also apply to any committees or subcommittees created by the board. So many
059districts, and I'm sure Hamilton is is similar, at their organizational meeting, they will identify committees of the board, which I assume you guys do. Oh, you don't? Okay. >> Okay. >> Do not have any current committees. >> Okay. Well, then you're different than other districts. Many districts will create committees at their organizational meeting. That's a pretty clear indication that is that is a body of the board that's actually governed by um the Sunshine Law. Um, a meeting under policy is going to be a pre-arranged discussion of public business of the board, its committees by a majority of the members, um, including regular special meetings. Just understand work sessions, retreat, planning meetings, study groups, whatever you're going to call it. It's either going to be governed by the laws for regular meetings or special meetings. Um,
060and understand that there's case law out there that a series of pre-arranged meetings that are attended by, so let's say you have two board members that attend a meeting. Um, they leave, another two board members come in, they are told what was discussed in the prior meeting. They give their take on a particular item of business. A fifth board member is brought in later. just because you at each individual meeting you only had two or less members of the board. If you have what's called a roundrobin discussion where that public business is then passed along to the next board member and a majority of the board has had an ability to have a discussion outside of an open meeting, that could potentially be a violation of the open meetings act. Um, that doesn't prevent though
061a majority of the board members. Let's say you're you're at a foundation dinner and all five of you go and you're not discussing public business of the school district. That's perfectly fine. Um, I normally recommend that you all sit at different seats just to avoid the appearance of impropriety. But again, the Open Meetings Act says it needs to be a pre-arranged discussion of business. If you're not discussing business, you're fine. um use of emails and text messages. Just understand that um the Glasgow v Jones case that made clear that it doesn't matter the mode of communication that you have. What matters is if in that communication you are discussing school district business. So, if you discuss school district business on social media, if you discuss school district business on your personal email accounts, that will
062not um change the fact that it's the it's the actual business public business that's being discussed that that um determines whether or not that um communication becomes a public record. Okay, next slide. Um, and with emails, um, if you have serial email communications by a quorum or three or more members of of this public body to deliberate or make decisions, that could be a violation of the open meetings act as well. Um, my recommendation to boards is that any emails to other board members should be one directional only and not call for nor receive a response. Um, and I've had to remind other boards that occasionally if you have a second board member chime in on business, somebody needs to put an email out saying, "Hey, let's put a pause on this and let's have
063this discussed at a at an open meeting." Next slide. Um, so at your organizational meeting, you set your regular meeting schedule. Um, as far as special meetings go, um, that notice needs to indicate the time, place, and purpose of each special meeting, and it needs to be given to the news media or individuals in your school community who have asked for advanced notice at least 24 hours in advance. So the big um difference here is going to be you need to have the stated purpose of the special meeting in that notice and the board needs to stick to that stated purpose um during that special meeting. Um it sounds like the board committee issues is not going to be um a big issue here. So I'll gloss over that. Um there is a school specific
064statute that the treasurer needs to notify all board members of each special meeting in writing no later than two days in advance of the meeting. So there is the open meetings act that says 24 hours notice. There's a school specific statute that says um board members should get two days advanced notice of a special meeting. Um questions some come sometimes come up on um what's the legal significance of agendas. That's really um part of uh the process of conducting a board meeting. You actually look at the Ohio Revised Code. There's nothing in the revised code that speaks to board agendas. Um, it's the responsibility though under board policy that the superintendent in conjunction with the board president, they prepare the agenda of the items that come before the board at each regular meeting. Um, the
065board needs to transact business according to the agenda, but as I'm sure this board does, like many others, you make a motion to agend amend the agenda at regular meetings, you're perfectly fine. Um, however, next slide. Um, if you have a special meeting, again, back to the time, place, and purpose of the meeting, you have to stick to the agenda that was published in advance of the special meeting. In the Jones v. Dayton case, um, the board was found to have violated the sunshine law for taking action outside the stated purpose of the agenda for that special meeting. Um, as far as executive sessions go, um, you have a laundry list. I think there's 17 different reasons you can go into an an executive session. Um, a good chunk of those deal with either personnel
066or um, negotiations. Um, one thing that I've seen, and you're an experienced treasurer, um, you cannot list a laundry list of every reason under the sun to go into executive session. So, if you're going in to hear um a complaint against an employee, you should not be putting compensation, employment, discipline, discharge. It needs to be very specific on that. Um let's see. Um so, what is discussed in the uh what is listed in the motion needs to be the only things that are discussed in executive session. And that is from time to time if if if you sense that a board is starting to deviate from the discussion that's in the motion, there needs to be a timeout called and people reign back into strictly discussing only that that's in the motion. >> Dave, a
067question. >> Yeah. >> Typically with us, we'll just say um there'll be a motion to go into executive session. Should it be more detailed a motion to go into executive session to talk about economic development personnel. >> It should the minutes need to specifically list the the specific statutory reason for going in. >> That's we always post we we post the checklist that has highlighted the reason. Um but that I do think that's a practice that I think this board needs to consider is before we make that motion reading aloud so that people at home are hearing what those specific reasons are. Um, I actually prepared for Ashley this evening to have that that checklist right in front of her. It's already on the agenda, but I think it's important for us to acknowledge that.
068>> And so, the Open Meetings Act has a provision in there that um the litigant can get an injunction to essentially invalidate any action that's taken um that follows an improper discussion in executive session. So, there is some consequence for that. Next slide. Um so executive session confidentiality you have policy that specifically says executive session discussions are confidential. Um no no member of the board shall disclose the content of the discussions that take place during the executive session. And that tracks statute. There is an actual provision in revised code 102.03b 3B that um no public present or former public official um shall disclose without appropriate authorization any information acquired by the public official or employee in the course of their duties that is confidential because statutory revisions or that has been clearly designated to the
069public official or employee as confidential and your policy does deem executive session discussions to be confidential. And I bring this statute up because it it actually does carry a c a criminal penalty potentially for a violation. So, um, and I will tell you, although I have not seen a prosecutor take up a a criminal penalty, this provision of all the provisions that I've seen when when board counsel is called to potentially um assist with a resolution of censure, which is essentially a kind of a the equivalent of a board member reprimand. Um, it's for it's usually for a violation of some type of executive session confidentiality. And then this is just backing up. The Ohio Ethics Commission looked at this back in 2020. Um, and they were asked whether that statute prohibits the public official
070from disclosing information discussed in executive session. Um this the commission said the statute itself does not create confidentiality. But if the public body um um has been um designated the discussion in executive session to be confidential then it would be a violation of statute. And so again citing back to your policy your policy does designate um executive session discussions as confidential. So, let's talk about some court cases. Yeah. Um, the first one is the Briggs Levy case. Uh, it was decided last year. Um, this just backs up the concept of if you have a member of the public that is being disruptive to your board meeting. Um, in this case, the city council had uh regulations that prohibited disrupting meetings and um the consequence of those that violated would be given one warning before removed.
071And this council backed that up. You had an individual who was being disruptive during a city council meeting. They were warned to stop. They persisted and upon the next time they they engaged in the behavior, they were removed. The individual filed a first amendment um claim uh and the court backed up city council saying the first amendment does not require unlimited chances to comply before being removed from a public meeting. Next slide. Um this was right up the road. Um versus Madison local board of education. Uh this was a challenge to the board meeting's public participation policy. Um the court rightfully determined that the board meetings are a limited public forum, which means that if you open your um meetings to public comment, which I believe you guys do, um you need to allow for
072free speech for the purpose of discussing school district business. It's not an it's not an open public forum. It's a limited forum for the purpose to discussing school business. Um next slide. So Madison Local's policy though had prohibitions that restricted speech that was abusive, personally directed, and antagonistic. Um, and the court actually found those prohibitions were unconstitutional. And I believe you guys probably got the same revisions from Niola that they did because that was in the template policy. So they revised the um the public participation policy because of this. Essentially the court said things like abusive, personally directed and antagonistic uh fit within the scope of impermissible viewpoint discrimination because they prohibited speech purely because it disparaged or offended somebody which which the court said that was was too subjective. However, the court did uphold
073the pre-registration requirement. So, you had to sign up in advance to to address the board. The court said that that um was a permissible restriction. Um school boards um need to be able to reserve time for individuals most likely to participate in the meeting. Um this board had problems in the past of folks signing up to speak but then not appearing. Um, and then they noted that look, even if you didn't register, you still have the ability to email the board members, email the superintendent to to have somebody from the school district be to be able to receive your your complaints or concerns. Um, this Moore versus Corin Township um may not be as applicable to you guys as as most districts. This dealt with the creation of committees. uh the township created a committee
074which was a subordinate group that that actually the township referred folks to this uh committee to to conduct business. Um the one thing that the court made clear is that because it was a public body any of the emails between committee members actually um needed to also follow the open meetings act. So, if a majority of the committee of that township engaged in emails, that potentially could violate the Open Meetings Act. Um, let's talk about social media. I thought this was an interesting case that came out in 2024, uh, Linke versus Freed. This dealt with, um, public officials having what the court called a mixuse social media page. So you have a social media page where you you um post public content on the social media page along with your kind of private personal content.
075Um and the court was asked to decide whether um public officials could delete or block individuals from their personal social media pages um without violating the individual's first amendment rights. Um, next page. And the court put together a two-part analysis. Um, essentially they said um that um in um determining whether the actions of deleting comments or blocking individuals violated the First Amendment, the court's going to look at number one, did the public official have actual authority to speak on behalf of the office or agency on a particular matter? And number two, um, did the official purport to exercise that authority in the relevant actions on social media? Um, so in in a school board's case, um, I think it's very clear that a a a normal board member is not going to satisfy the first
076obligation. they do would not have the authority to speak on behalf of the board on a particular matter unless the board in open session authorized or directed them to do so. So I think by and large um this would not apply to to prohibit board members from delete um blocking individuals from commenting on their social media page. The only thing I I I question would be board presidents via board policy have the authority to speak on behalf of the board. Does that create a gray area? I don't know. In this case, it was not a school board member. That was the public official at issue. So, I always like to advise being a little bit cautious on on that end. But I think if you're not board president, um I don't believe the first prong
077of the analysis would would apply here. Um, but the big piece here, hold on a second quick, Jeremy. Um, the big piece that the court, um, I thought provided some valuable insight is they said, "Look, if the public official puts a disclaimer on their social media page that says something along the lines of the views expressed herein are my own, um, doing so would give the public official a strong but not irrebutable presumption that they are speaking in their personal and not official capacity." So, I think that's a good um not only for board members, for superintendents, treasures, assistant super, all you guys um put some type of disclaimer on your social media page saying the views on my page are my own. And I think that'll that'll give you some level of protection. Um,
078as far as sunshine laws and social media, I just I stated the statutes again just so you understand that um a public record is a record kept by the public office and it's going to um be defined as a um a record created or received or coming under the jurisdiction of a public office which serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations or other activities of the office. And so presumably again if you recall earlier from my presentation it doesn't matter how you communicate whether it's personal email social media if you are talking about um the functions decisions operations of the school district you could potentially create a public record on social media. And let's let's jump to the next slide as an example. So, let's say you've got a board member. They
079receive a question from a neighbor um on their personal Facebook page, and the neighbor asks about the procedures for their child to be accepted into the high school AP math program. The board member obliges, responds on social media to the neighbor, and answers all their questions about how the AP program functions, how students are selected, and how the program operates. um such a post could meet the definition of a public record since it documents the procedures and operations of the AP math program. And so I think the lesson in this example would be it's it's perfectly fine to answer your neighbors questions about the operations of the district. My recommendation would be if you're going to do so, respond back to them via your district email account. That way the school district automatically maintains and
080archives your emails. You don't have to worry about, okay, did I just create a record on social media that now I'm relying upon Facebook to maintain for me and the school district. Okay. Um, and so as far as the open meetings act, school boards must conduct business and take official action in meetings open to the public unless, as I mentioned, if the topic is permitted to be discussed privately in executive session. Um, and I also mentioned that board members need to be present in person to be considered part of a quorum and to vote. So, let's let's talk about an example here. Next slide. So, let's say you've got a board member. um they make a comment about some type of school district business on the district's let's say it's either the official um district's
081Facebook account and it could it could even apply to your own personal social media page. After that initial comment is made, two other board members subsequently comment on the same subject matter on that page um that the initial board member commented on. Now I will tell you this case has not yet been decided in Ohio. I would make an argument that is it a pre-arranged discussion? Maybe, maybe not. Um, but I can tell you there are folks out there that are looking for cases like this to bring actions against public bodies to claim this is some type of pre-arranged discussion of school district business >> board business. Every, you know, we have a group text messages on newspaper articles that come out about school funding. >> Yes. Would that be considered school or board business
082or we're just sharing idea, you know, sharing articles? >> I mean, if if it's if it's not something that's presently before the board, maybe on an upcoming agenda, I would say no. You're you're commenting on a newspaper article. Um there there was a court case um I litigated it about 15 years ago and the and the court I had I had a challenge that basically you had board members emailing each other. This was in the context of an election for board members um and they were discussing election politics and the court said discussion of politics is not the same as board business and I would think that would be very similar. Yeah. Okay, next slide. And I think it's good um to talk just real briefly about um the use of public funds for any
083type of advocacy for ballot issues. Back in 2023, um the auditor of state issued a a fairly lengthy FAQ on what they deemed to be permissible and impermissible use of public resources for advocacy work. Um the two statutes that apply are revised code 9.03 and 3315.07 uh which prohibit um in this case a school board from using public funds to support or oppose the passage of a levy or a bond issue or to compensate any employee for time spent on an activity in um intended to influence the outcome of a levy or a bond issue. and they had certain provisions in there specifically to what the role of a board member might be in that. Next slide. >> I have a question really quickly on that if we could actually go back. >> Yeah. >>
084Um, so I'm in a federally funded position and I know that we have to be very careful about not lobbying on the hill while we are in that paid role. since we have elected to not receive any sort of compensation as board members where do we define because this talks about um using public funds and so typically in a paid position that is a use of public funds to lobby if you weren't so I'm just curious about where that cutoff is for us since we are unique in that we're not paid as board members >> you are you are unique because most of my school boards their board members do draw a per meeting stipen um and and actually that was that was kind into the next slide that that I was going to um
085talk about. Um so the auditor of state said that the levy campaign restrictions only apply to board members when the board member is being paid to attend a board meeting. Um so you can't when you're sitting at a board meeting advocate for people to vote yes on a ballot issue during the time you are attending the meeting. But we could we could >> the only thing I worry about is is this broadcast out to over like YouTube and >> that's the only thing I would I I don't know the answer yet on what that would be if if the auditor would say because district networks are being used to broadcast out board meetings, you shouldn't advocate. But I will tell you the auditor's FAQ only dealt with well since board members get paid to attend
086board meetings, they can't on paid time advocate, but that is an interesting question. I I I don't know what the answer would be on that. >> Dave, I I would just say that in in my experience, I'm I work for the library, so we have very similar situations. And so on our paid time, and I know we're not paid, but on our paid time, we can't advocate for that, but on our free time, we can. And I think it it seems like a good idea that when we're behind this table, when we're when we're in this role that we not, but but it sounds clear that we can advocate for that on our own time, even though we are board members as long as we're not in board meetings. >> Yeah. The auditor of state
087said during any time that you are not sitting in a board meeting again their assumption was you were getting board members were getting paid uh you have first amendment free speech rights so that includes any type of advoc advocacy work the only caveat I would give you would be you cannot advocate even if it's on your own time by sending emails out over your district email accounts it needs to be through private email private social media things along those lines. Um, so next slide. I think that might be it. Are there any questions I can answer? No, but I have a comment for you. Little bit of a funny story about school visits. Um, always let the superintendent know, always coordinate through the principal. I was recently at a big blue basketball game and u
088my granddaughter who is a preschooler gave me 20 birthday cards that her classmates had made for me. So I contacted Mrs. Blevens and said hey am I allowed to do something for the class or you know anyway contacted the principal went through the teacher. Yes, please come in and read a book to the class and maybe bring chocolate chip cookies. So I did. The book I was reading was called Nibbles the Book Monster. If anybody's ever read that. So, here I am with, you know, preschool kids sitting right there and and I'm on a little stool and I'm reading this book and one of the preschool students corrected me on how I pronounced one of the characters names in this book. I was so embarrassed. The teacher got a good laugh out of it. >>
089All right. Well, thank you for having me tonight. I appreciate it. Hey, Dave, I I greatly appreciate you coming in and and I do want to make sure that our board knows if you have questions uh you know, specifically about where those roles and responsibilities lie, you know, uh Mr. Lampy works at the will of the board. He is here for you guys. Uh he's here to represent our district, but that is also for you at the top of that scale. >> Dave, I have one qu real quick. The confidentiality about um executive session. >> Yes. I know we have lawsuits against us all the time. Could we be compelled to testify in a deposition or in court about what was said in executive? >> It's a great question. Um I'm litigating that as we
090speak. >> Um so talk to me in talk to me in six months. So it's it's the case. I can talk a little bit about it because it's it's in obviously it's public record, but um the board is raising attorney client privilege and executive session privilege on on it on a personnel matter that was discussed in executive session. So, we should know very soon. >> Right. Thanks. >> All right. Thank you. Our next agenda item is uh I will consider a motion to adjourn into executive session to consider the appointment of a public employee or official and to discuss confidential information related to an application for economic development assistance or negotiations with other political subdivisions related to the application as an executive session is necessary to protect the applicant's interests or related expedent expenditure excuse
091me of public funds. So move. >> Second. >> When we return from executive session, >> take a vote. Oh, roll call. I >> I'll call the roll. >> I'll roll. Sorry. >> Dr. Hopkins. >> Yes. >> Mr. Davidson. >> Yes. >> Dr. Copus. >> Yes. >> Miss Manuso. >> Yes. >> There will need be no business meeting and we will adjourn directly after executive session. All right. >> We're just going to meet in the