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What’s going on?)
Several actions taken by the Rappahannock County School Board during the past weeks have disturbed us.
First, the board has deferred a decision on a request for optional religious instruction during school time. We believe that would be a bad idea, and expressed that opinion last week.
But in deferring the decision, several additional questions arise. First, why did two of the board members abstain from voting? Generally, abstentions are reserved for matters in which the individuals have a conflict of interest, or if they were not present when the issue was discussed and are therefore not familiar with the facts.
No reason was given by the board members for thenaction. They are not required to do so. We only hope that the abstentions did not arise from a reluctance to take a stand on a controversial issue which will draw criticism no matter which way they vote.
Second, the vote on the proposal was two against, one in favor, with two abstentions. Chairman Beverly Massie counted the two abstentions as “nays” and ruled that Paul Nichol’s motion to deny the request failed to pass. We question her ruling. Under parliamentary procedure, abstentions are counted separately from “yeas” and “nays.” We believe that, because three votes constitute a majority, the motion should have passed by a two to one margin, with two abstentions.
This week, questions raised by a reporter for this newspaper revealed that the School Board apparently learned of an administrative decision to cut the amount of time allotted for physical education at the elementary school during an executive session called to discuss pupil and ?'« personnel mattdffs.
That too is wrong. We have no objection to executive sessions being called to discuss matters of personnel. That is why the Virginia Freedom of Information Act makes allowances for certain types of business to be discussed during executive sessions.
But the law is clear—decisions must be announced in public session.
It is also clear on another point — policy decisions and the discussion of their ramifications do not belong in executive session. When personnel discussions become policy discussions it’s time to open up the doors.
The residents of a community can only participate in decisions which affect their lives if they are aware of them. That is why the Freedom of Information Act was created— to insure that government is as open to public scrutiny as is possible without compromising certain clearly defined sensitive areas.
We think that is a good idea, and we urge the School Board to keep the public as involved as possible in the decisions which affect our children.
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