MARKTALK ALBANY (NY) EXCLUSIVE: GUILDERLAND BOARD OF ED “EMERGENCY” MEETING MONDAY MAY BE ILLEGAL ATTEMPT TO SILENCE PUBLIC - TEACHERS RESPOND
SUNDAY JULY 6 UPDATE: THE MEETING CALLED FOR TOMORROW NIGHT BY THE GUILDERLAND SCHOOL BOARD TO SILENCE THE PUBLIC IS APPARENTLY ILLEGAL UNDER NEW YORK STATE LAW (click here for law text, pay attention to section 104). The school supt. has not yet responded to email and voice mail messages left by MarkTalk.
Developing….
(Saturday July 5, 2008) MarkTalk’s Upstate NY radio listeners are familiar with the pair of Guilderland High School teachers being demoted for holding and espousing conservative political views.
Coming to the aid of the teachers has been more than 500 self-described “liberal” students all of whom praise the teachers for challenging them to think and justify their beliefs.
Faced with more than 400 angry students, parents and a media circus the Guilderland Board of Education literally ran from a meeting, pelted by catcalls the entire way (click here for raw video).
MARKTALK HAS LEARNED THAT AN “EMERGENCY” MEETING OF THE BOARD WILL BE HELD AT 6:00 PM LOCAL TIME, THIS MONDAY JULY 7 TO DEAL WITH THE GROWING CONTROVERSEY. HOWEVER, MARKTALK SOURCES INDICATE THAT THE BOARD WILL AGAIN BOYCOT ITS OWN MEETING IF TEACHER SUPPORTERS ATTEMPT TO SPEAK AND IS GOING TO ENFORCE THAT BAN ON THE PUBLIC BY HOLDING THE MEETING IN A SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM. THEY WILL THEN USE THE LOCAL FIRE MARSHALL TO USE FORCE IF NECESSARY TO CLEAR THE ROOM OF PEOPLE WISHING TO SPEAK. School officials have not returned MarkTalk’s inquiries for comment.
BELOW IS THE FULL TEXT OF A STATEMENT FROM THE TEACHERS, SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE MONDAY BUT AQUIRED BY MARKTALK THROUGH OUR OWN SOURCES CLOSE TO THE STORY:
JOINT STATEMENT from Matt Nelligan and Ann-Marie McManus, regarding the special meeting of the Guilderland Board of Education scheduled for Monday, July 7, at 6 p.m. in the Guilderland High School Principal’s Conference Room. The district has posted that, “The purpose of the meeting is a personnel issue, probable Executive Session pending Board action.”
STATEMENT:
“We sincerely hope that the Board of Education, after hearing all of the facts, will agree to restore us to our teaching positions and schedules at the High School for 2008. We also hope that the Board will reverse the decision of Superintendent John W. McGuire that has served to divide and to potentially destroy an excellent Social Studies Department.
“We expect the information presented to the Board will reveal the facts of unfounded allegations made against Matthew Nelligan and the supporting evidence that Ann-Marie McManus was on maternity leave during the ‘Climate Inquiry’. Based on these facts, we hope the Board will conclude that both transfers are not justified by the claims made directly by the Superintendent in various statements, including letters sent about our involvement in a negative climate which are defamatory to our good names and reputations throughout the Guilderland community.
“The Superintendent’s actions have caused great pain not only to us personally, but also to the Social Studies Department and to our families, friends and to the Guilderland community as a whole.
“We urge the School Board to respond to the hundreds of people who have called on them to reverse the decision made by Superintendent McGuire that was based on an unsubstantiated and discredited ‘Climate Inquiry.’
”We urge Superintendent McGuire to accept the facts of this case and to apologize for the hurt that his actions and words have caused to so many.”
“We wish to thank all of the students, former students, parents, community members, family and staff who have supported us. And, we are especially proud of our students who clearly have learned the lessons we have taught them — how citizens can effect policy and correct injustice in our democratic system.”
Matt Nelligan
Ann Marie McManus
July 6th, 2008 at 11:33 am
By law, every school board meeting must be open to the public (though they are trying to leave the impression it isn’t). They have to first convene to vote publicly to enter executive session if that’s what they intend to do. That’s why the district website notice says, “probable Executive Session pending Board action.”
They have also changed the room location to the principal’s conference room instead of the larger room where meetings are normally held. That is likely designed to limit the crowd and maybe to avoid televising the meeting. I don’t know if the principal’s room is wired for broadcasting. That’s something to monitor.
The district pulled the plug and went to black on the local cable channel broadcast the other night as soon as the board members started to leave. Many, many people were watching at home.
July 6th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
By doing what they did is infringing on freedom of speech. This school board and superintendent must go.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I cannot believe in this time in our lives, Social Studies would not be the most important subject of the students term at school. Instead they are fighting the WAR of freedom of speech. Students, parents and community members should realize that the school board is not showing freedom.They are shutting up the ripe minds of tomorrow. These students that they are taking these fine teachers from are the students that will someday become school board members themselves. What kind of message are you sending to the future.