BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - Reporters from the Detroit Free Press and WDIV-TV were allowed entry to a school-closing committee meeting in Bloomfield Hills on Tuesday, though until that point the committee had been meeting in private, the Free Press reported.
The facilities master planning committee, which includes a parent and administrator from each elementary and middle school, plus other at-large members, is charged with recommending which two schools the district should close next year. During the meeting, committee members conducted a vote by written ballot on which closings and grade configurations they preferred, but the ballots were not counted nor were results announced during the meeting, according to the Free Press. Committee co-chair Richard Elias said he would e-mail results to committee members, the Free Press reported.
The committee is expected to report its recommendations at a public meeting on Thursday, according to the Free Press. The committee has been meeting in closed sessions since September, but Free Press attorney Herschel Fink advised the paper that the meetings should be open to the public, the Free Press reported. When journalists showed up at the meeting site, they were allowed in.
SOURCE:
The Detroit Free Press, "5 schools favored to stay open," Dec. 3, 2008
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "School-closing committee names members," Oct. 16, 2008
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