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Attorney: South Range BOE violated state Sunshine Laws
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NORTH LIMA
The South Range Board of Education violated state law by appointing Amy White to its board, the attorney representing The Vindicator said today.
The board unanimously approved White’s nomination Monday night, as a gold and black metallic nameplate for her sat before the vacant seat on the board.
While the board met in executive session last week to discuss the replacement, “A public body may not take any formal action, such as voting or otherwise reaching a collective decision, in an executive session. Any formal action taken in an executive session is invalid,” states the Ohio Sunshine Laws.
Ironically, this is Sunshine Week in Ohio, and Attorney General Mike DeWine issued the 2015 edition of “Ohio Sunshine Laws: An Open Government Resource Manual” on Monday. It is available in .pdf form at Vindy.com.
“The whole circumstance sounds to me that there would be clear evidence that the decision was already made, and taking a formal vote before the public was just theater,” said Atty. David Marburger for the newspaper. The nameplate itself, he argued, is “just the clearest evidence. ... The most troubling part is what that represents."
Read more about the situation in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com