On August 20, 2019 Leon County Schools provided the minutes of three meetings requested last week by Tallahassee Reports. The response, fulfilled by LCS Assistant Superintendent Michele Gale, amounted to two paragraphs for each meeting which lasted up to three-hours.
The minutes provided by LCS contained only time, location and a list of attendees. The lack of detail in response to TR’s request may be a criminal violation of the Sunshine Law.
Listed below is a screen shot of the May 21st meeting minutes.
TR also compared various meeting characteristics between the Agenda Review and the regular school board meetings.
Listed below is the date of each meeting, the length of the meeting, and the length of the minutes for the Agenda Review and the following regular Tuesday School Board meeting.
Meeting 1
Agenda Review
Date: May 21, 2018 Length: 2 hrs. Minutes Length: 2 paragraphs.
Regular Meeting
Date: May 22, 2018 Length: 2 hrs. Minutes Length: 19 pages.
Meeting 2
Agenda Review
Date: Oct 22, 2018 Length: 2 hrs, 45 Min. Minutes Length: 2 paragraphs.
Regular Meeting
Date: Oct 23, 2018 Length: 1 hrs, 58 Min. Minutes Length: 30 pages.
Meeting 3
Agenda Review
Date: May 13, 2019 Length: 3 hrs, 5 Min. Minutes Length: 2 paragraphs.
Regular Meeting
Date: May 14, 2019 Length: 1 hrs, 46 Min. Minutes Length: 29 pages.
It is clear that the minutes for the regular meetings were more detailed than the minutes for the Agenda Review meeting.
Also, it is important to note that Agenda Review meetings 2 & 3 lasted longer than the actual school board meetings, which are held on Tuesdays in a more public setting.
What was covered in the Agenda Review and not covered in the regular meetings?
TR determined that the EDULOG presentation was given during the Agenda Review on May 13th, but not covered in the regular meeting on May 14th.
TR has previously written that LCS did not properly record minutes for the “Agenda Review” meetings held the Monday before the the regular Tuesday School Board meeting. The minutes indicate that LCS – in violation of government in the sunshine laws – did not promptly record the minutes of the meetings.
In addition, the information provided by Dr. Gale also appears to be in violation of the government in sunshine laws.
The Government-In-Sunshine-Manual states the term minutes in the Florida statutes, section 286.01, “contemplates a brief summary or series of brief notes or memoranda reflecting the events of the meeting..”
Clearly, the Agenda Review minutes provided to TR were not “reflecting the events of the meeting.”
In fact, the actions by LCS in fulfilling TR’s data request could be criminal. Florida Statutes, section 286.011(3)(b) indicate that a knowing violation of the Sunshine Law is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
Also, the 1st District Court of Appeal has declared that the Sunshine Law is “serious business,” because “there is criminal liability for officials who knowingly disregard it.”
TR will continue to investigate.
Mark, if all you point out is true, then how do we get rid of this guy? I for one fear reprisal from local politicians ever since I got threatened by followers of former mayor Gillum online after I posted a critique of his handling of the power outages post hurricane. I posted on a local TV station's website and "BOOM" here come the threats. Fearing for my family I quickly ended my posting career. I think if they want your IP address they can get it. This guy is obviously connected, and my guess is that he is a Democrat. It's all well and good to post about him, but how can we fight the good ol boy network when we have kids?
Yet another example of the best and the brightest in action. People! Please... can someone with real organizational skills please come forward and run for the LCSB! Preferably a non-democrat, with children currently in school. At some point the people have to say "No More!" Run an advertisement for God's sake. We have to break the cycle incompetence and good 'ol boy BS. Rocky may be beloved by the teachers, but is he really the analytical, financially experienced, parent of 4 that has a proven track record of good decision making? No offence, but you get what you pay for. If these board members were living in Japan they would need to commit sepuku.
Rocky Hanna has a track record as a High School Principal of dating teachers on his staff, making out with them in the parking lot, bullying them into a transfer with a financial settlement, he has openly made fun of students of poverty and special needs, he admitted he fabricated information to intentionally misleaded state and federal authorized to dirty up his oppenent, he has enacted a hit list running employees out of work, he and his brother hired a private investigator to follow peope during the election, he hid from child support for 10 years until sued, he gave jobs to his political supporters paying them over $100,000 each while teachers are the 46th lowest paid in Florida. This is Rocky Hanna.
What is in the M. Gale file?
I believe Rocky attending the Amelia Island junket that is really nothing more than Gary Yordan's political campaigning nonsense says it all.
Any elected official who attended that farce voters should reply in kind. Elected officials pay for that nonsense out of their slush funds paid by taxpayers.
I believe the Tallahassee Democrat is even catching on and while a few attended from the Tallahassee Democrat I believe they held their noses in doing so. A giant step forward.
School Board members have no legal right to organize or to operate LCSD. Its members need to develop policies and set goals and approve contracts, and hold accountable staff so that the Superintendent and her/his staff produces the results the School Board has identified. It is the Superintendent and the staff that need to know how to organize and how to administer, and how to hire, train, and hold accountable people who can produce the desired results. That is really hard to do in an atmosphere where people are assigned and promoted on who they know, and not on how effectively they can carry out the public mandate, including choosing a long range vierw and not just what saves money in the short term.
Keep digging and ask for the file on M. Gale.
Funny Quotes - Hokey Smoke! Rocky (Hannah) and Bullwinkle
Rocky: Well, they don't call him Wrongway Peachfuzz (Joanas) for nothing!
Bullwinkle: Well this is a pickle...actually its more of a kumquat.
Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
Rocky: Do you know what an A-bomb is?
I wouldn't call them "Recreated".......I would called them "Quickly Made Up" because they didn't think anyone would ask for them.
Did they consult with their lawyer before releasing this? If so, did their lawyer approve of them releasing B.S.? The only thing of substance in the minutes is that somebody asked a question and somebody answered it. WTF??? And these are the people in charge of our childrens' educations?
Another interesting Hanna fact. He was elected Supt and he appointed himself Director of Facilities and Construction. At the last Board meeting, he left the Board table and addressed the question from Board members from the public podium. Strange behavior! Watch the last Board meeting. I assume he cannot find a qualified construction person. Wonder if he has sold any School Board property in the last three years that did not make it into the Board minutes.
Time for Rocky and the school board members to hang it up. By the way--Janet Heath is a nightmare. You can't ask the employees because they know if they want to keep their job they better not say a word.
Anybody at all doubt the Hanna "hit list"? Political appointments make $100,000 each, employees run off by Hanna and his minions, teachers the 46th lowest paid in Florida. School board, silent. Governor Desantis please act.
I bet they are super glad that Erwin Jackson doesn't sit in on THEIR Meetings……..
At the bottom of the minutes, it says that an audio tape of this meeting will be maintained for five years. Is there an audio tape of this meeting?
I saw that too.
Public companies use software to convert their quarterly earnings calls into text and make it public in less than 24 hours.
The software (such as Dragon) is pretty cheap -under $100; don't see any reason why LCSB isn't doing this.
Unless the audio would EXPOSE them.
Yes this and the recent revelations of ALL the inappropriate things the school board has done is like taking a big 'ole smelly dump on the whole County and blaming that Manny dude and some unrelated dude named Mr. Messer in the hopes the stink will just all kind of blow over and the current board somehow survives the political firestorm they brought upon themselves by their ineptness and lazeness.
You want to take a quick look at something even more scary?
Take a quick side-eye peep into the nearest mirror Mr. and Ms. Leon County voter...you gave us this stink and worst of all you have no plans to change your D right down the line voting habits.
I would like to know what happened with Darryl Jones’ attempt to get continuing issues from board members added to the agenda review agenda. It happened for like one week and then was gone. It appears he tried to exert some board oversight into district management but was rebuffed. Same with the Solz rehire. The board claimed they couldn’t do anything because the lawyer said so. It sounds like the school board attorney is Rocky’s heavy. Shouldn’t she ultimately be representing and protecting the board’s interests?
LCSD has an elected superintendent, and yes the superintendent is entitled to counsel different from the person who represents the school board. In years passed when conflicts arose, the Superintendent general used the attorney handling employment matters as his independent counsel, if I recall correctly (the last I recall this coming to public attention was in Montford's time). It is rare when school boards and elected superintendents have real conflicts as opposed to potential conflicts that can be waived by both parties.
In no way shape or form do these submitted minutes come close to meeting the interpretation of the sunshine law. In addition after you're done looking at the edulog situation, go back to one of the first board meetings where Rocky requested approval and the board approved a settlement with Kim Hackett with Marie Maddox for $250,000. And no time at the board meeting and I doubt there's any minutes to reflect at agenda preparation meeting did Rocky recuse himself because Marie Maddox was his attorney when he filed a false whistleblower claim.
Worth repeating time and again, the school board has never admonished Rocky Hana after he admitted to the school board attorney that everything he included in his notebook that he admitted he gathered with no first and knowledge of any wrongdoing and that he alone wrote the misleading summaries that were designed to mislead state and federal authorities. Rocky admitted on the record he had no knowledge of wrongdoing yet he caused a $600,000 investigation to dirty up the former superintendent.
Since our school board does not seem to act on the unethical behavior of Rocky Hanna nor are they policing themselves with these records of the Sunshine law I would hope that the Tallahassee Reports would submit a letter to the Governor demanding and immediate suspension of Rocky Hanna with an investigation into the unethical behavior of Rocky Hana and the acknowledgement of the school board did not follow the Sunshine law records.
Mark keep the light on their shenanigans! Last straw for taxpayers should be EDULOG debacle! Rocky you are a one term Superintendent! Rocky
and cohorts believes he is too invincible! There must be a change at the helm of Leon County School Board! Throw him under the SAME infamous bus he uses to discard his trash!
Where is the Board Attorney? Sound like the lot of them are nuts. At all public meetings, the agenda has an item called "approval of minutes of previous meeting". Did the Board not realize that previous meeting minutes were missing. What a circus. Where are you Governor?
The Board Attorney, Opal McKinney-Williams, was at the Agenda Meeting on the 21st. I guess she decided she shouldn't be at the actual meeting on the 22nd so she wouldn't be called as a Witness.
LCSB attorney isn't she the wife of the now defunct former lap dog for Hizzoner Marty Marks? No wonder there isnt any transparency!
She is the wife of Allen Williams, former Repressentative.
My fave Alan Williams quote of all time:
https://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Top-Lawmaker-216665781.html
Reporter: "Can you tell me where you live, which one of those places. I mean it's a simple question, where do you sleep at night?"
Williams: "Well I'll tell you, it's hard to sleep when you're fighting for district 8."
What a great reporter Andy Alcock was, before WCTV was pressured into running him off.
A more embarrassing group of reprobates has never been photographed. Just look at that picture... there is no way on gods green earth I would entrust my child's education to that group of ignorant, morbidly obese, glad handing thieves of the tax payers hard earned money.
They have demonstrated over and over again they are not up to the task. Its no wonder no one in our local government knows right from wrong.
If they aren't corrupt, its only because they are too stupid to get wit the program!
Why is Andrew Gillum still listed as Mayor? Didn't he learn that nobody supports him much anywhere, including Tallahassee? Hillary's dollars didn't work out for him either. He needs to resign is my take.
I don't see any improvement with the new school board members/ superintendent.
For the superintendent to do away with the courtesy zone was a detrimental mistake with huge ramifications on so many levels.
Then, for such a significant change with rolling out Edulog without proper public notification and input was either a blatant cover-up or huge oversight... either way is problematic and should have consequences starting at the top.
This is the beginning of the end for each of the school board members and the superintendent, in my opinion.
I don't see how the school board members could not have known. There is no oversight, synergy, or energy.
It is unconscionable that the school board and superintendent attended the Amelia Island junket. I hope they paid for it out of their own pockets.
WOW just WOW
Y’all need to stop mouthing off and check your facts. Rocky Hanna did not attend the Chamber conference at Amelia Island. He was here in Tallahassee meeting with the bus drivers.