POLAND – Elected school leaders correspond too much via private e-mail, perhaps illegally so, charges a member of the Poland Regional High School Committee.
David Griffiths of Mechanic Falls blasted the committee and Chairman Ike Levine on Wednesday, saying that the e-mails have replaced conversations that ought to be heard publicly.
Messages include demands by Levine for reports from school administrators, comments about the conduct of student athletes and a report from the principal about the school year.
“So, for reasons that are beyond me, the Poland School Committee allows these counter-productive and, in the case of the e-mail, illegal practices to continue,” Griffiths said.
His comments appeared to come as a surprise to the board. Some bowed their heads as Griffiths read a two-page statement.
When Griffiths finished, the only response was an “OK” from Levine. No one else offered a comment.
Then, the committee moved on to other business.
However, the statement reignited a year-old disagreement between Griffiths and Levine over e-mails.
Griffiths first charged that too much business was being done via e-mail last October.
In those discussions, School Union 29’s own attorney called the messages a legal “gray area.”
Daniel Stockford, an attorney with Brann & Isaacson in Lewiston, advised the committee last October that its e-mails would be considered public records and would have a possibility of being labeled a meeting if challenged in court.
The seven-member Poland Regional High School Committee includes representatives of School Union 29’s member towns of Mechanic Falls, Poland and Minot.
Last fall, members vowed to write an e-mail policy. Levine and others attended a workshop in Poland the following month on Maine’s Right to Know legislation.
However, nothing has changed, said Griffiths. He asked the committee to place the issue on the its next agenda for further discussion.
“By myself, I can’t stop you,” he in his statement Wednesday. “All I can do is make the situation public.
“But I can tell you that on the Mechanic Falls School Committee, this simply wouldn’t happen because we have too much respect for our professional administrators and for the citizens’ right to know,” Griffiths said.
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