The Fall River School Committee is off the hook as far as an allegation that its members violated the state’s Open Meeting Law last summer. The complaint was originally filed by former School Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown last June, about two weeks before she left that position to take another position on The Cape.
Mayo-Brown filed her complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office after she accused the committee of discussing and approving a motion to freeze, for 30 days, all hiring of new school administrators. She alleged that School Committee Member Paul Coogan had “intentionally violated the Open Meeting Law” by waiting until the New Business portion of the Committee’s June 13th, 2016 public meeting to introduce the agenda item in question. She said in her complaint that the item should have been disclosed publicly 48 hours before the meeting because Committee Chair Mayor Jasiel Correia and Coogan knew that the item would be up for discussion, although Coogan counterclaimed that was not the case.
In its response to the Attorney General’s Office, the School Committee said Correia didn’t know Coogan would introduce the motion at the June 13 meeting until right before the meeting was scheduled to begin. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the committee’s lawyer advised members that the motion could be brought up as “New Business” during the meeting, which Coogan did, and the committee approved by a 5-2 vote. Since there was no evidence to the contrary, the Attorney General’s Office said it would credit the School Committee’s version of events.
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