The USD 386 Madison-Virgil Board of Education believes concerns about a possible open meetings violation are unfounded, but the district will await a formal decision from the Kansas Attorney General’s Office — and Board President Jeff Williams says the district will do its utmost to make sure its meetings are open and follow all state guidelines.
This follows a special meeting in Madison on Friday morning, where board members went through Kansas Association of School Boards attorney Lori Cope’s review of the timeline pertaining to public meetings with the district’s two superintendent finalists, Tammy Baird — who was ultimately chosen for the post — and John Johnson last month. The concern, as expressed by the Madison News in a Kansas Open Meetings Act complaint, involved short notice or no notice, especially for Baird’s public meet-and-greet as well as a meeting when the board chose Baird to replace Steve Jowers. Williams says the district sent emails and made phone calls to alert the public of the meeting.
Before accepting the superintendent position, Baird was Madison’s junior-senior high school principal.
There is currently no timetable for guidance from the Attorney General’s Office on these concerns.
