Dennis Leone on what happened in executive session 8/17/06: DAMON HAD ALREADY PAID SOME OF THOSE LEGAL FEES!!!

From Dennis Leone, Tue, 22 Aug 2006
Subject: Roll call

In answer to your question, Kathie, here is what happened: On Thursday (8-17-06), we went into executive session and Damon asked for support to pay the legal fees. John and I both expressed our opposition. Since it is not legal to take any kind of formal vote in executive session, it was a matter of Damon trying to determine the Board consensus, then saying that was going to pay the fees unless a board consensus, individually and collectively (during the exec session) expressed something different. It IS legal to have this kind of discussion.........school boards do it all of the time during employee negotiations.

One shock I received in exec session was the fact that Damon stated that he had already paid the fees for 2 of the 3 employees. He claimed the board gave him support to do so in exec session in May. I expressed my complete disagreement over this. I said: "Why are you bringing this to us today for discussion if you felt you already were given permission in May to pay them?" He said he wanted to know if the Board wanted him to "undo" the payment, which he said he could do. Of the board members in the room, I was the only one who said that Damon was NOT given permission in May to make the payments. Lazares and Puckett were absent in May for the discussion. Chapman said he agreed with Damon. Flannagan, Ramser, Billirakis, and Meyers basically said nothing about what the consensus might have been during the May executive session. I said my memory was quite clear on the topic, which was that NO permission was given. I reminded Meyers how I told him AFTER the executive session in May how wrong it WOULD BE IF THEY EVER RECEIVED SUCH A PAYMENT. Meyers did not indicate whether he remembered this conversation with me. I even remember telling that the membership would flip out over it if it ever happened. Damon left the executive session feeling he had a consensus from a board majority that the payments were okay.

In public session on Friday (8-18-06), when it came time to vote on Damon's monthly expenditure reports for June and July, it was asked (I don't remember by whom) if the payment for the legal fees of the 3 staff members was included in the 2 monthly expenditure recommendations. Damon said yes. I announced that I felt forced to vote no on both expenditure reports because it was the only way I could express my opposition to the payments. Both votes were 6-1. I voted no on both of the monthly expenditure recommendations. Lazares was absent. Voting yes were Ramser, Flannagan, Puckett, Billiarkis, Meyers, and Chapman. Buser, Brown, and Fisher were no longer on the board. Before the vote, I announced publicly that I felt the payment for the 3 was in violation of 3307.15, and that I intended to file a formal complaint about it.

That's what happened.

Dennis Leone

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From Kathie Bracy

Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Subject: Roll call

(Offline, Monday night 8/21/06)

Dennis --

Please let me know if this is correct -- those Board members in attendance, supporting Damon's request for approval to use our $$ to pay the three staff members who hired their own private legal assistance:

Absent: John Lazares

Voting no: Dennis Leone

In attendance, supporting Damon's request (voting yes):

Conni Ramser

Jeff Chapman

Mary Ann Flannagan

Mike Billirakis

Steve Puckett

Geoff Meyers