Karen Sticht: Inter-Lakes School District should consider putting legal services to bid again

To The Daily Sun,

Annual town and school meetings have come and gone, but one question lingers on. When voters attend meetings, some for the first time, they expect truth and knowledge from the elected board members, the administrators and employees, and especially from the attorneys, paid to give legal advice.

The law firm of Soule Leslie Kidder Sayward & Loughman, PLLC, specializing in school and municipal law, has represented the Inter-Lakes School District for many years, with attorney Barbara Loughman attending too many annual meetings, while attempting to advise on state laws.

At the school district meeting on March 4, there was a very close vote on one article, which the moderator called as passed. Immediately, a group of people behind me called for a hand count. The microphone was not available, but the moderator did hear the request and when given the microphone, a voter did formally request a hand count with many others supporting him.

The moderator brushed off the request, saying, “It wasn’t that close,” and tried to conduct other business. Someone tried to move on, but was stopped by those still calling for a hand count, to which the moderator replied, “No.” Finally, under advice from attorney Loughman, the moderator said, “Well, let’s do it this way. All those in favor of overruling the moderator’s judgement on the vote for Article 6, raise your voting cards … ” (Source: youtube.com/watch?v=MfRbreGfJKY / Time Stamp: 2:03:25). 

The fact of the matter is, there are New Hampshire RSA’s governing the moderator’s duties at public meetings. “The moderator shall have the like power and duty as a moderator of a town meeting to conduct the business and to preserve order, and in the conduct of a school district meeting, all the statutory duties, powers and authority granted to town moderators and may administer oaths to district officers … ” (Source: Title XV, Education, Cooperative School Districts 197:19).

“When any vote, other than by ballot, declared by the moderator or other officer presiding shall, immediately and before any other business is begun, be questioned in writing or orally by 7 or more of the voters present, the moderator or other officer presiding shall retake the vote by secret yes-no ballot” (Source: RSA Chapter 40, Government of Town Meeting, Section 40:4-b). 

Section 40:6 Penalty for Default of Presiding Officer states, “Any moderator or other officer presiding who shall willfully neglect or refuse to follow the procedures for voting established in RSA 40 or who shall willfully violate or neglect to enforce any rule of proceeding which shall have been established by vote of the town or otherwise, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

I’m not suggesting that the school moderator be charged with a misdemeanor, nor that we incur the cost of a special district meeting to revote Article 6, but I do strongly advise the district put legal services out to bid or, at the very least, request a more knowledgeable attorney to attend future meetings.

Karen Sticht

Meredith