Whitehall School Board Issues Pointed Letter to Commissioners; Claims Health Board "Operates Behind Closed Doors"

At the March 2nd meeting of the Jefferson County Commissioners, the Whitehall School Board presented a letter from their attorney, as well as verbal dissertation from Board Chair Gina Ossello, in regard to the Jefferson County Health Board. The Board, Ossello stated, has been “operating behind closed doors” and has overstepped their bounds on several occasions, including the recent Jefferson County mask mandate.

Below is the letter Ossello read to the commissioners; a letter from the Board’s attorney, Bea Kaleva was also presented. That letter was specifically addressed to Jefferson County Board of Health Chair, Christina Binkowski, citing public meeting law discrepancies.

“The Whitehall School Board had a special Board meeting on Monday, February 22nd. The Board was displeased with the action of the Jefferson County Health Board in issuing the Jefferson County mask directive.

“Concerns exist regarding how the Health Board operates behind closed doors. For example, meetings are not accessible to the public, decisions are made out of the public eye, there is limited opportunity for public comment at meetings, meetings have a set adjournment time, meetings are adjourned without the ability of all in attendance to comment, and Health Board meeting agendas are deliberately vague. Several board members questioned how the Health Board signed a directive without noticing the public.

“The Whitehall School District attorney, Bea Kaleva, investigated these claims and concerns. She approached the County Attorney, Steve Haddon, for evidence that Montana open meeting law had been followed and he provided her with no such evidence.

“Therefore, her findings, as outlined in this letter, are as follows:

“The County Health Board is a public entity and is required to follow the open meeting laws when hearing, acting on or discussion Board business.

“In addition, when a County Health Board wants to implement a rule that is more stringent than a state rule, it must follow the law as stated in Montana Code Annotated 50-2-130, which states “The local Board may adopt a rule that is more stringent than comparable state regulations or guidelines only if the local Board makes a written finding, after a public hearing and public comment and based on evidence in the record, that: a) the proposed local standard or requirement protects public health or the environment, and b) the local Board standard or requirement to be imposed can mitigate harm to the public health or environment and is achievable under current technology.

“The written finding must reference information and peer-reviewed scientific studies contained in the record that forms the basis for the local Board’s conclusion. The written finding must also include information from the hearing record regarding the costs to the regulated community that are directly attributable to the proposed local standard or requirement.

“The Jefferson County Board of Health did NOT provide adequate legal notice and opportunity for public hearing and public comment as outlined in Montana Code Annotated 50-2-130.

“Rather, the currently issued directive is a condensed rip-off of “Lewis and Clark City-County Board of Health Emergency Rules and Regulations in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic”, which were legally adopted at the Lewis and Clark County Health Board Meeting. The Lewis and Clark County Health Board Meeting agenda and minutes clearly show their Board going through the process of adherence to MCA 50-2-130(2).

“Jefferson County Health Board did not follow the process outlined in MCA 50-2-130, but simply plagiarized the Lewis and Clark County document. Therefore, I call for the following:

“The pattern of behavior exhibited by the Jefferson County Board of Health is one of willful and illegal misconduct. This behavior was first exhibited this fall when the non-conference game cancellation directive was issued BEFORE a meeting of the full health board open to the public. In this meeting, constituents who had comments which disagreed with the directive were cut off and disallowed from making public comment as the meeting was adjourned promptly at 8pm. In addition, when asked by Whitehall Schools Superintendent that the Board follow open meeting laws and vote publicly on the directive, the Board chair declined to do so.

“The issuance of the Jefferson County Health Board Mask Directive is the second known time that the Health Board has flagrantly violated and disregarded open meeting laws and process for issuing a MORE stringent local rule as outlined in MCA 250-2-130.

“The Health Board operates under the appointment of the commissioners and therefore this commission is ultimately responsible for the Health Board’s illegal actions. I call for the immediate removal or resignation of all Health Board members starting with their Board Chair, Christina Binkowski, who as the Board Chair, is tasked with running their meetings in compliance with Health Board bylaws and Montana law.

“The constituents of Whitehall School Board have not been afforded the opportunity for public hearing at a properly noticed board meeting in regard to this issue. The agenda for tonight’s Health Board meeting is vague, lists an 8pm adjournment time, and does not comply with open meeting law requirements. Therefore, tonight’s Health Board meeting should be cancelled as it is not being convened in a legal fashion.

“I represent the constituents of Whitehall School District. My constituents deserve to have their voices heard. They need to know county officials follow the law. The commissioners of this county cannot condone the illegal actions of the Health Board. This has gone on long enough. There were problems in September, the first time this happened with the non-conference game cancellation directive, and no six months later, the Health Board continues to conduct business in illegal fashion.

“A survey of my constituents shows 85% of parents want masks to be optional in Whitehall Schools (214 parents responded); 80% of staff wants masks to be optional in Whitehall Schools (66 staff members).

“This commission cannot allow the illegal actions of the health board to continue. This will result in lawsuits for the County and for the individuals who acted illegally. So, I ask you today, how are you going to immediately address the illegal actions of the Jefferson County Health Board?”

Leonard Wortman, who had been assigned Presiding Officer over the Commissioners at the start of the meeting, stated that the Commission would need to speak with their attorney and go from there. Commissioners agreed that they would resume this discussion at the March 23rd meeting at 2pm.

Ossello attended the County Health Board’s meeting that evening; which was held and not cancelled as requested.

Ossello said that at the meeting the Board amended the mask directive to strike references to the agreement of the Health Board or meetings and to remove Christina Binkowski’s signature. They stated that Sandy Sacry, the Jefferson County Health Officer, issued the directive solely by herself and that this was allowed per MCA 50-2-118. The Jefferson County Health Board maintained that they did not provide notice to the public and did not hold a public hearing because they were not required to do so.

The directive will most likely be a topic at the Tuesday, March 9th School Board meeting (which happens after the Ledger goes to print). This topic, as well as the resulting conclusion of the meeting on March 23rd, will be covered by the Ledger.