Tensions flared during the Leon County School Board meeting May 26 as board member Alva Smith raised concerns over potential Sunshine Law violations and the district’s procurement process.
Smith recommended delaying approval of a contract for Raa Middle School renovations with Rippee Construction. She directed a series of questions at Superintendent Rocky Hanna and staff about the procurement process and an earlier meeting between school officials that involved two board members.
Florida’s Sunshine Law requires that any discussion between two or more school board members regarding matters that may foreseeably come before the board for a vote must take place in a properly noticed, public meeting
“Female members were not invited, nor were we aware, nor was it noticed,” Smith said, noting that the timing of the meeting and contract “taints” the process and opened the board and contractor to potential litigation.
The board ultimately approved the Rippee contract in a 4-1 vote, with Smith dissenting. However, the board will also recreate the meeting with the full board to ensure any potential Sunshine Law violation is “cured.”
What happened at the meeting?
According to Assistant Superintendent Rod McQueen, an April 29 meeting included construction company representatives, district staff, and board members Marcus Nicolas and Darryl Jones.
The meeting was not publicly noticed. McQueen initially hesitated to confirm the board members’ attendance, later saying Nicolas attended as president of ESPMedia and Jones as deputy director of the Office of Economic Vitality.
The central question was whether the discussion at that meeting affected the Rippee contract.
McQueen said the meeting’s purpose was to invite contractors to discuss possible changes to procurement processes.
Jones said his experience as a procurement professional with OEV was intended to help develop a new approach.
“My presence at that meeting was because this was an idea born of both my vocation and my advocation,” Jones said. “One has nothing to do with the item we have before us.”
Nicolas also pushed back on Smith’s concerns.
“I have to say that when one’s integrity is in question because I attended a meeting that came to me on my school board calendar … I do find it a bit offensive,” Nicolas said.
Fiery exchange between Hanna and Smith
The discussion included a heated exchange between Hanna and Smith over his recommendation to move forward with the contract.
Hanna said he consulted a procurement attorney who determined “no violations had occurred.”
Smith shot back that the attorney was neither education or construction law certified and that Hanna should have consulted with the board attorney.
“So what kind of lawyer is she? I’m confused why she was selected,” Smith said.
Hanna responded: “You grandstand really well though. You do that well.”
“Maybe if you would return my phone calls or emails we would have this conversation in private,” Smith said. “But you chose for this conversation to be had at this board meeting.”
Smith also sought guidance from board attorney Opal McKinney Williams, who is employed by Pittman Law Group, owned by ESPMedia founder Sean Pittman. McKinney Williams said she could not offer a definitive opinion.
“Anytime two or more members of a board … are together and have discussions concerning a matter that might foreseeably come before the board, there is a violation of the Sunshine Law,” she said.
Board member Laurie Cox agreed with Smith, saying the board should err on the side of transparency.
Board member Rosanne Wood said “a mountain is being made out of a molehill” and supported Hanna’s recommendation.
McKinney Williams suggested a remedy: revisiting the meeting in public.
“I do not think there was any ill intent … but I would like to see this cured so we don’t end up in litigation,” Smith said. “Let’s have the meeting all over again … and afford the female members of this board the opportunity to attend.”
Nicolas objected to that characterization.
“I do take exception to the suggestion that it was just the men invited … putting that out there in the public space is dangerous,” he said.
The board plans to revisit the discussion at its June 15 workshop.
Alaijah Cross covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at abrown@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Sparks fly at Leon School Board meeting over Sunshine Law concerns
Reporting by Alaijah Cross, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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