Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

April 29, 2009

TCAPS board absences force cancellation

Four of seven board members miss meeting

BY LINDSAY VANHULLE

TRAVERSE CITY -- A meeting of the Traverse City Area Public Schools board of education that was canceled due to lack of quorum is the first shelved meeting in at least eight years, the board's secretary said.

Monday's meeting, a scheduled study session, was canceled about 6:30 p.m. -- a half-hour after it was supposed to start -- because only three of seven board members showed up.

At least four are required for a meeting to occur.

Members Fred Tank, Dave Barr, Suzann Brooke and Alice McNally were absent.

Since January, Barr has missed three meetings, the most of any board member. He had the flu Feb. 9, his son Andrew was born April 13 and he was at a doctor's appointment for the baby on Monday. Barr said he contacted TCAPS officials shortly before the meeting to notify them he'd be absent.

Tank left for a six-week European vacation April 14, said board secretary Keena Tibbetts. He'll also miss both meetings in May.

Tank was absent Feb. 9, too. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Monday's missed meeting was the first of the year for Brooke and McNally, both of whom called TCAPS officials that afternoon with medical problems.

Gary Appel, Megan Crandall and Marjie Rich were the only board members to show up Monday. All have perfect attendance so far this calendar year.

A number of high school students attended Monday as part of a class assignment, only to find the meeting was canceled.

Extended absences make it difficult to coordinate schedules, Barr said, referring to Tank's vacation and former board member Gerald Morris' teaching commitment on Mondays last fall.

It also puts the board at risk should any unexpected circumstances arise, he said.

"I can't control the day my son is going to be born, but I can control my vacation," Barr said. "When you have somebody scheduling multiple dates off, six weeks off, that creates a problem."

Brooke missed a number of meetings last year as she recovered from hip-replacement surgery. She fell in late December and said her hip bothered her Monday. She had a doctor's appointment Tuesday.

Because lack of quorum hasn't happened the day of the meeting in years, Brooke said she doesn't think it will happen again.

"It was a freak accident for timing for all of us," she said. "I'm not worried about it."

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