It has been brought to light that prior to the May 4 Franklin Regional School Board meeting, a board member sent an email to the other board members and James Heck, director of facilities, with information concerning a bid on musical equipment. The email was discussed during the May 18 meeting.
This is seemingly in violation of the Sunshine Act, and in the interest of transparency and trust, I believe it is imperative the taxpayers of this community get some answers regarding questions about this “behind closed doors” activity that one member of our school board attempted to orchestrate.
I call on the school board member who sent the email to come forward and share the email into public record. I call on that director to explain why he or she felt the need to break bidding protocol of public notice and solicit a bid from a company privately on behalf of the district. I call on that member to disclose publicly any affiliation he or she has with said company and explain why it was chosen for solicitation of a bid and why the information in the bid was withheld from other board members and the public for several months.
At bare minimum, we the taxpayers should expect our elected officials to conduct themselves in an honest, ethical manner that does not potentially legally jeopardize our community.
This violation should not be taken lightly. It is inexcusable and at the very least, the actor owes the constituents of this school district an apology.
Jeannine Brentzel
Murrysville