June 4, 2003 – The Board of Education held an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon and acted on two items, according to a release.
It approved funding to cover the cost of some summer courses required for certification and recertification of Education Department professional staff. Teacher certification is an issue the board must address to comply with mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
And it voted to hire the law firm of Frazer and Williams to represent the board in a lawsuit filed by Dr. Jorge Galiber, school board member and, until March 13, the body's acknowledged chair.
Five board members voted to remove Galiber as president at the March meeting, an action which, in the view of the five, elevated then-vice chair Harry Daniel — one of the five — to the position of acting chair.
The board has been enmeshed in internal dissent since that time. The board's staff attorney said the vote to oust Galiber was invalid because a two-thirds majority, or six votes, is needed for "reorganization." Three other board members who had been present at the start of the March meeting but left before the vote was taken say their departure left the board without a quorum and that the action also is invalid on those grounds. The five disagree on both counts.
Galiber contends the action was taken against him because of his having publicly stated concerns about board-related matters, and he has sued the board seeking to have his ouster overturned.
The regular June board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday. Only two members, Daniel and Keith Richards, showed up. On the agenda for that meeting were the two items addressed Wednesday afternoon.
Information was not immediately available on who attended Wednesday's meeting.
The board members are: Daniel, Galiber, Terrence D. Joseph, Claudette Petersen, Richards, Malik Sekou, Linda Thomas and Yvonne Williams-Henry. The ninth seat on the board has been vacant since the death in April of Gerald E. Hodge Sr.
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