Joseph Cormier: School board should hold meeting if enough members petition

To The Daily Sun,

From the Moultonborough School Board minutes of Sept. 14:

"Petition: Board members received a copy of the petition requesting a special school district meeting (presumably RSA 197:2) to vote on optional mask-wearing for students. Superintendent Patrick Andrew discussed school board meetings vs. district meetings, and the costs. The petition has been sent to the school attorney. There is a meeting of school attorneys tomorrow and they will make a recommendation on how to move forward."

Prefacing my opinion by stating I'm not an attorney, and only attorneys can give legal advice. Not a difficult legal question to answer.

RSA 197:2 A special meeting of a school district ... shall ... be held whenever 50 or more voters ... have made written application to the school board ...

The statute clearly states a special meeting must be warranted and conducted. Costs do not appear to be relevant. However, even if there is a majority vote by the voters at the special meeting, to do "something" and the board says the opposite ... the board will probably prevail. The voters' vote will be judged "unenforceable." The subject matter is under the school board control, not the voters, statutorily. State laws “trump” (easy now) town votes.

Department of Education

RSA 21-N:1 Findings; Policy Statement. – I. The general court finds that the students, parents, general citizenry, local school teachers and administrators, local governments, local school boards, school administrative units, and state government have a joint and shared responsibility for the quality of education delivered through the public education system in the state of New Hampshire.

RSA 21-N:10 State Board of Education. – I. There is hereby established the state board of education ...

RSA 186:5 The state board (of education) shall have the same powers ... over all public schools in this state as the directors of a business corporation ... It shall be the duty of school boards and employees of school districts to comply with the rules and regulations of the state board.

RSA 186:6 Compliance With Federal Provisions. – The state board may also make the regulations necessary to enable the state to comply with the provisions of any law of the U.S. ... to promote physical health ...

RSA 194:1 What Constitutes a District. – Each town shall constitute a single district ...

RSA 194:2 Districts to be Corporations. – All districts legally organized shall be corporations, with power to sue and be sued ...

RSA 194:3 Powers of Districts. – VIII. To provide for health and sanitation;

RSA 194-C:1 Status. – II. School administrative units legally organized shall be corporations, with power to sue and be sued ...

Maybe the petition (that will probably be declared “unenforceable”) is a premise for a lawsuit to get a decision from the New Hampshire Supreme Court, to reverse and declare unconstitutional, the present school board controversies regarding masks and vaccinations? The present statutes might get modified. Or, the legislature might file new legislation, if it already hasn't.

Joseph Cormier

Moultonborough