D135 Special Meeting Cancelled Due to No Quorum

Updated: 10:05 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 30

Not enough Orland School District 135 board members were present Tuesday night for a special meeting called to fill the seat left vacated by one member last week.

Board vice president Ann Gentile, secretary Tina Zekich and member Tom Cunningham were present at the meeting held in the district administration building’s learning center, but members Joe LaMargo, Mary Bragg and Lynne Donegan did not show.

Gentile, Zekich and Cunningham called for the special meeting, which was scheduled for 7 p.m. Four members needed to be present for the board to take action Tuesday night.

“At this time we have three other board members who have not shown up,” Gentile said, just before cancelling the meeting around 7:35 p.m. “One of those three had said that she would be arriving. We wanted to make sure there was no confusion with the times set for this meeting. She is obviously not here.”

Many of the crowd of people gathered for the meeting applauded after the announcement.

Around 7:15 p.m., D135 interim superintendent Carol Kunst said the meeting would be cancelled by 7:35 p.m. if LaMargo, Bragg or Donegan showed. The reason given was they wanted to avoid confusion in case anyone thought the meeting was scheduled for 7:30 p.m., the usual time for D135 regular board meetings.

Gentile also then asked if anyone had heard from Bragg, but didn’t ask about LaMargo or Donegan.

The special meeting was announced Friday about a day after board president .

The special meeting’s agenda also listed a motion to appoint special board counsel.

Bragg released a statement Tuesday night detailing why she chose not to attend the meeting.

A meeting was called for this evening to suspend policy and procedures to replace a board member who has resigned, and to hire “special counsel” to review the board’s decisions in the recent personnel matters in preparation for possible litigation due to those decisions. The thought of wasting taxpayer money for an unnecessary expense because of misinformation and fear mongering, so that we would act irrationally, is both unprofessional and unwarranted. To hire another legal team to review our decisions in case of possible litigation because a board member violated attorney client privilege is absurd and should not happen. The idea of suspending policy, procedure, or past practices to make an appointment that should not be made by the outgoing board members is not in the best interest of the children or district.

Read Bragg's full statement by clicking on the attached document.

“We were going to talk about it as a board of six,” Gentile said after the meeting was cancelled. “I wish we could all convene as six members to discuss the matter we had on the agenda.”

Gentile didn’t specifically name any members, but said she wants to “contact the board members who said they would be here tonight,” when asked if any other actions would be taken before new board members take their seats next week.

LaMargo said after the meeting was cancelled that he decided not to attend upon learning Donegan and Bragg also wouldn’t be attending at around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday.

“From the very beginning I was against this meeting being called,” LaMargo said. “The actions being taken tonight was nothing more than a political move on their part, and not in the best interest of District 135. I think the message was clear to those three. We’re not going to stand for this type of political meeting.”

Cunningham said just before the meeting was cancelled that the board members were all obligated to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

“They should be here representing themselves and the taxpayers and the district,” Cunningham said. “Is this about kids? That’s what I want to know. They could’ve come here and spoke to that, offer their piece, and they chose not too. To me, that’s spineless.”

Cunningham said he wasn’t sure how many meetings he has missed in eight years on the school board, but “it isn’t too many.”

When asked why outgoing board members were choosing a member to fill the recently vacated seat, he said “why not?”

Donegan also released a statement Tuesday night, where she stated why she chose not to attend the meeting.

Since the meeting was called, for the purpose of three board members to carry out their own agendas, Mary Bragg, Joe LaMargo and I did not show up. This special meeting was called without urgent cause, since our next meeting fell within the parameters of lawful time to fill Mr. Carmody’s position.

Read Donegan's full statement by clicking on the attached document.

LaMargo said he plans to work the new board members to call out for people interested in the open board seat to submit applications, and then be interviewed.

“We have 45 days from the date (Carmody) resigned, so we have plenty of time,” LaMargo said. “That will be one of our first actions is to start working with the superintendent once the new board takes seat, follow the process, so all that are interested in the position can apply for it.”

Bragg wrote in her statement that she intends to apply for the open seat, and Donegan wrote in hers that she will attend next week's meeting for the new members to be sworn in. 

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