FRANKLIN
Franklin’s city council invited the school board to participate in a joint called meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m., in the Franklin City Hall council chambers, 207 W. Second Ave., Franklin, to discuss the Fiscal Year 2015-16 school division budget deficit and financial procedures. The council sent a public notice to all residents of Franklin Friday morning announcing the meeting.

In response, the division superintendent’s office has released an official statement saying that the members of the school board will not be attending the meeting.

However, according to school board member Bob Holt, the superintendent’s office did not contact every member of the school board to ask if they were available to attend. Holt said that he, Nancy Godwin and Will Council have each received no communication from the superintendent’s office with regards to the meeting.

Holt, for his part, plans to attend.

According to City Manager Randy Martin, Mayor Frank Rabil initially contacted the school board and superintendent on Tuesday, but did not hear back from anyone and so, instructed Martin to go ahead and release the public notice of the meeting in order to comply with legal meeting notice requirements.

Martin said the meeting will be held regardless of whether any representatives of the school board or superintendent’s office attend.

During Monday’s city council meeting, school board chairwoman Dr. Andrea Hall-Leonard spoke in favor of meeting with council to discuss the budget deficit and suggested sometime in December after the next school board retreat. The members of council, however, considered the deficit matter too urgent to wait until December and supported the mayor contacting the school board chair to schedule the meeting for Tuesday.

The school board members and representatives of the superintendent’s office have yet to provide city council with any alternative dates when all board members might be available, save for their original suggestion of December.

The meeting will conclude with a closed session to discuss and consider the performance of appointees and evaluate the performance of departments.