Posted on April 3 at 5:06 a.m.

Nekayah -

As for these these meetings, they are "public" in name only. They are actually "legislative sessions" that will be run like courtroom hearings, and the State Law that establishes this procedure also prohibits public comment in this forum. These are the rules of the due process being pursued by the teachers' union.

Both parties (the School District and the teachers' union representatives) will each have an hour to present their arguments to the School Board, and the School Board can then ask questions, before they make their decision. Anyone attending the meeting who is not directly involved in the presentations will be merely spectators. (And, anyone who has been paying even the slightest attention to all of the articles outlining the procedure for these meetings would already know that.)

As for a voter referendum regarding comingling of capital funds and operating funds, State Law also prohibits that. And, a local governing body cannot enact legislation that is contrary to State Law. Therefore, this can't happen without intervention from Tallahassee (which is highly unlikely).

This was discovered when Dr. Thompson first made the suggestion to the School Board of moving money from capital funds accounts to supplement the operating budget. (Yes, you heard me correctly, it was HIS idea to make the recommendation to the School Board in the first place.)

On Collier school district agrees to change date of salary hearing so teachers can attend