They think that the rest of us should have no say in it at all – and really do believe that our kids belong to THEM and not to US. For decades, they have been undermining Parents’ morality and norms.
BTW- I can’t let Ann Marie have ALL the fun, can I? Yes, this kind of stuff amuses me and yes, it is fun. However, it is also deadly serious stuff as our Educational system has decided, on it own, to turn American culture and political philosophy upside down and inside out.
So, not on my watch, and if the news from around the nation is true, a lot of other parents have said “WE are the employers – you WILL do as you are told”. And so the battle is joined. And I did my first foray into the CRT battle theater this past Tuesday.
What I was handing out to each of the Laconia School Board members was the following RSA 91:A demand for ALL of their Critical Race Theory materials being used to either train teachers and staff or in materials being injected into the psyche of Laconia (NH) children.
After all, HB2’s passage made ALL such materials immediately illegal here in NH. And it’s clear from their own website, they are ignoring the Law – why is it that so many Educational entities in the State refuse to Follow the Law?
I have to admit that while I had planned a different speech, they really didn’t wish to allow non-Laconia citizens to speak and Heavens to Mergatroid if you wanted to admonish them for not following the Right To Know Law (RSA 91:A-3) in calling to meet in “non-meeting.”
And not a single one of them caught this rather egregious mistake if you are either running (e.g., Chair Heather Lounsbury or the “trust your professional” Superintendent Steve Tucker) and tried to correct it. Why is it that yours truly, a lowly blogger, has to bring it to their attention?
July 20, 2021
Ms. Heather Lounsbury
Chair, Laconia School Board
SAU 30
39 Harvard Street
Laconia, NH 03246RE: Right to Know Request per RSA-91A
Dear Laconia School Board Chair Lounsbury
Pursuant to the Right to Know Law (RSA. 91-A), I am requesting public access, within 5 business days, to the governmental records : For the District. Between teachers, staff, parents, outside entities, school committee, etc. starting January 1, 2020 till current. For (SCHOOL DISTRICT)
A. Teacher Training
- Regarding teacher and staff training at SAU30, copies of instructional materials including instructor manuals and guides, training assignments and presentations regarding teacher and staff training on Racial Sensitivity, Critical Race Theory and tenants of race training, Social Justice, Diversity training, social and emotional learning, diversity equity and inclusion, cultural competencies (or other such euphemisms used related to those just enumerated) are being demanded for review.
- Names of third party contractors, if any, conducting said training, and copies of documentation related to contracts and contract award and bidding of said contracts.All correspondence, including email, letters, internal instant messaging, related to said contracts between School District and contractors. All financial documents including invoices, payment vouchers, checks, documentation related to Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT, regardless of the transfer agent used such as ACH or Paypal)
- Full legal name of teacher training instructors. All correspondence, including email, letters, internal messaging, related to materials and books to review based on race, diversity, inclusion and social justice for students or staff.
B. K-8 Curriculum Materials
- Copies of Curriculum plans, Teacher Guides and Manuals, in class and homework assignments, regarding Action Civics, Cultural Competency, Racial Sensitivity training, Critical Race Theory, any tenets of race training, Social Justice, Diversity training, social emotional learning, diversity equity and inclusion (or any other such documentation similar to the enumerated topics but using related euphemisms to obfuscate their intent) instruction at the K-8 level.
- Copies of documentation related to grants received for said curriculum materials or instruction, including names of grantors and receipts. All correspondence, including email, letters, internal instant messaging on any school server, related to grants between school officials and grantors.Copies of contracts with publishers and suppliers of said curriculum materials, including their party contractors, if any, conducting said instruction, and copies of documentation related to contracts and contract award and bidding of said contracts. All correspondence, including email, letters, internal instant messaging on any school server, related to said contracts or grants between school officials and contractors and grantors.
Per RSA 91-A:4 IV(c) If you deny any portion of this request, please cite the specific exemption used to justify the denial to make each record, or part thereof, available for inspection along with a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the information withheld.
Please let me know when these records are available for inspection or you may email the records to me at Skip@GraniteGrok.com. If the volume is turns out to be substantial, I’ll be happy to supply a backup drive sufficient to hold all of your responsive records.
Thank you for your lawful attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Skip Murphy
Gilford, NH 03249
603-630-6644
Skip@GraniteGrok.com
Per RSA 91-A, governmental records means “any information created, accepted, or obtained by, or on behalf of, any public body, or a quorum or majority thereof, or any public agency in furtherance of its official function. Without limiting the foregoing, the term “governmental records” includes any written communication or other information, whether in paper, electronic, or other physical form, received by a quorum or majority of a public body in furtherance of its official function, whether at a meeting or outside a meeting of the body. The term “governmental records” shall also include the term “public records.”
I have to admit, I decided to “borrow” Ann Marie’s as it is well written and hits all of the right points with the necessary legality phraseology that’s needful for this kinds of stuff. No, I’m not abandoning the wrongs that the Gilford School Board is doing with their Policy JBAB (Transgender) and how THEY are not modeling the Follow The Law for their students either and the August 2 meeting should be a lot of fun as well.
I do point out that their meeting was Tuesday so today is the third business day of the five allowed by State Statute. I’m almost willing to bet that they aren’t going to Follow The Law and respond within the required five days. Why should they – they completely botched, as you can see in the video, their own policy in going into what is really “Non-Public Meeting” – Policy BEC:
Non-Public Sessions
The Laconia School Board may meet in non-public session for any of the purposes set out in RSA 91-A:3. Upon motion, the vote to enter non-public session will be a recorded roll-call vote made in public session. The motion calling for a non-public session will state the matter(s) to be discussed and will state the statutory reason(s) for entering non-public session.
The Laconia School Board shall record minutes of all non-public sessions. Nonpublic session minutes will be made publicly available within 72 hours of the nonpublic session, unless the Board votes to seal the minutes. The Board may seal the minutes of a non-public session only by a two-thirds vote. The Board will only vote to seal minutes of non-public sessions if divulging such information would:
1. Adversely affect the reputation of a person other than a member of the Board;
2. Render a proposed Board action ineffective; or 3. Thwart safety considerations pertaining to terrorism or other emergency functions of the Board.
Now, in reading their own Policy, they didn’t follow it. I was told, after I left, that they held the Non-Public Meeting even after being told they have to do a revote and do it properly. They’ve also broken their own policy, above. And as far as RSA 91-A:3 is concerned:
TITLE VI
PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
CHAPTER 91-A
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENTAL RECORDS AND MEETINGS
Section 91-A:391-A:3 Nonpublic Sessions. –
I. (a) Public bodies shall not meet in nonpublic session, except for one of the purposes set out in paragraph II. No session at which evidence, information, or testimony in any form is received shall be closed to the public, except as provided in paragraph II. No public body may enter nonpublic session, except pursuant to a motion properly made and seconded.
(b) Any motion to enter nonpublic session shall state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II which is relied upon as foundation for the nonpublic session. The vote on any such motion shall be by roll call, and shall require the affirmative vote of the majority of members present.
(c) All discussions held and decisions made during nonpublic session shall be confined to the matters set out in the motion.II. Only the following matters shall be considered or acted upon in nonpublic session:
(a) The dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such employee, or the investigation of any charges against him or her, unless the employee affected (1) has a right to a meeting and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted.
(b) The hiring of any person as a public employee.
(c) Matters which, if discussed in public, would likely affect adversely the reputation of any person, other than a member of the public body itself, unless such person requests an open meeting. This exemption shall extend to any application for assistance or tax abatement or waiver of a fee, fine, or other levy, if based on inability to pay or poverty of the applicant.
(d) Consideration of the acquisition, sale, or lease of real or personal property which, if discussed in public, would likely benefit a party or parties whose interests are adverse to those of the general community.
(e) Consideration or negotiation of pending claims or litigation which has been threatened in writing or filed by or against the public body or any subdivision thereof, or by or against any member thereof because of his or her membership in such public body, until the claim or litigation has been fully adjudicated or otherwise settled. Any application filed for tax abatement, pursuant to law, with any body or board shall not constitute a threatened or filed litigation against any public body for the purposes of this subparagraph.
(f) Consideration of applications by the adult parole board under RSA 651-A.
(g) Consideration of security-related issues bearing on the immediate safety of security personnel or inmates at the county or state correctional facilities by county correctional superintendents or the commissioner of the department of corrections, or their designees.
(h) Consideration of applications by the business finance authority under RSA 162-A:7-10 and 162-A:13, where consideration of an application in public session would cause harm to the applicant or would inhibit full discussion of the application.
(i) Consideration of matters relating to the preparation for and the carrying out of emergency functions, including training to carry out such functions, developed by local or state safety officials that are directly intended to thwart a deliberate act that is intended to result in widespread or severe damage to property or widespread injury or loss of life.
(j) Consideration of confidential, commercial, or financial information that is exempt from public disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV in an adjudicative proceeding pursuant to RSA 541 or RSA 541-A.
(k) Consideration by a school board of entering into a student or pupil tuition contract authorized by RSA 194 or RSA 195-A, which, if discussed in public, would likely benefit a party or parties whose interests are adverse to those of the general public or the school district that is considering a contract, including any meeting between the school boards, or committees thereof, involved in the negotiations. A contract negotiated by a school board shall be made public prior to its consideration for approval by a school district, together with minutes of all meetings held in nonpublic session, any proposals or records related to the contract, and any proposal or records involving a school district that did not become a party to the contract, shall be made public. Approval of a contract by a school district shall occur only at a meeting open to the public at which, or after which, the public has had an opportunity to participate.
(l) Consideration of legal advice provided by legal counsel, either in writing or orally, to one or more members of the public body, even where legal counsel is not present.
III. Minutes of meetings in nonpublic session shall be kept and the record of all actions shall be promptly made available for public inspection, except as provided in this section. Minutes of such sessions shall record all actions in such a manner that the vote of each member is ascertained and recorded. Minutes and decisions reached in nonpublic session shall be publicly disclosed within 72 hours of the meeting, unless, by recorded vote of 2/3 of the members present taken in public session, it is determined that divulgence of the information likely would affect adversely the reputation of any person other than a member of the public body itself, or render the proposed action ineffective, or pertain to terrorism, more specifically, to matters relating to the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, developed by local or state safety officials that are directly intended to thwart a deliberate act that is intended to result in widespread or severe damage to property or widespread injury or loss of life. This shall include training to carry out such functions. In the event of such circumstances, information may be withheld until, in the opinion of a majority of members, the aforesaid circumstances no longer apply.
There was no proper motion made (The “Non-Meeting” doesn’t Follow The Law), the reason (“update on negotiations”) doesn’t Follow The Law, and the raising of hands to assent to the motion is not a Roll Call mandated by the Law.
When it comes down to it, almost all of these kinds of issues are breaches of “Follow The Law”. This must cease.
Else, why shouldn’t we ignore their Policies?
