See You In Court! CABE Monthly Column
“See You In Court!” is written by Thomas Mooney and appears in the CABE Journal, a publication of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
Sometimes we hear that opposites attract, and such was the case between two members of the Nutmeg Board of Education. Board members Penny Pincher and Mal Content rarely see eye to eye on the challenges the Board faces, with Mal always ready to approve increased spending, while Penny Pincher typically votes against any new expenditures. But somehow love was in the air, and without fanfare these two Board members started to date.
During a Board meeting last month, Mal smiled at Penny and then texted “You look hot tonight” to her. Penny checked her phone when Mal’s text arrived, and she promptly sent a Heart emoji back to Mal. As the meeting wore on, they exchanged a few more texts. Mal texted Penny that fellow Board member Bob Bombast was a windbag who should get a life, and Penny texted Mal to ask whether they would be able to get away together on the upcoming weekend.
Unfortunately for Mal and Penny, local reporter Nancy Newshound attended the meeting. Nancy noticed that Mal and Penny were exchanging looks and then typing on their phones during the meeting, and the next day she sent a request under the Freedom of Information Act to the Superintendent for copies of any and all text messages between Penny and Mal from July 1 to date.
After a cursory search, Ms. Superintendent emailed back to Nancy to say that the Nutmeg Board of Education has no records responsive to her request, but Nancy persisted. “I am no dope,” she replied. “I know that something is going on, and I will get to the bottom of it.” Nancy then emailed both Mal and Penny directly, repeating her request under the FOIA for “copies of any and all text messages between the two of them.”
Mal wrote back to Nancy to tell her that his private texts were none of Nancy’s business because he sent them from his private cell phone. Moreover, Mal explained, he never shared those texts with the Superintendent or Board as a whole. For her part, Penny reported to Nancy that she had no responsive records to share because she had deleted the texts.
Nancy responded by filing a complaint against Penny and Mal with the Freedom of Information Commission. When Mal and Penny received notice of the complaint, they promptly forwarded the complaint to Ms. Superintendent, who in turn forwarded it to Mr. Board Attorney for review.
