Hamilton Southeastern Schools Board of Trustees has canceled a special meeting that had been scheduled for early in the morning of Aug. 30.
The meeting was apparently to discuss the board’s appointee to the Hamilton East Public Library board. A published legal notice of the meeting stated, “The Board of School Trustees for Hamilton Southeastern Schools will meet at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, in the Administration Center, 13485 Cumberland Road, Fishers, Indiana, to hold a public hearing pursuant to I.C. 36- 12-2-20 and hear public comment.”
The meeting was canceled Aug. 11. In response to a request for comment, Board President Dawn Lang stated in an email that the board has other priorities.
“We are focused on our school district and efforts to support passing the upcoming Operational Referendum. It is important that this be our priority right now as we start the new school year,” she wrote. “Hamilton Southeastern Schools is the third lowest funded in the state for per pupil dollars out of 371 school systems. If the referendum does not pass, HSE Schools will lose $26 million in revenue that directly supports student academics.”
She didn’t respond to a question about whether the issue will be revisited at a later time.
The Indiana Code cited in the now-canceled meeting’s announcement governs the removal of a public library board member or filling a vacancy. It states that “A library board member may be removed at any time by the appointing authority, after public hearing, for any cause: that interferes with the proper discharge of the member’s duties as a member of the board; or that jeopardizes public confidence in the member.”
It also states that a vacancy on a library board “occurs whenever a member is absent from six consecutive regular board meetings for any cause other than illness.”
The seven Hamilton East Public Library board members are appointed by four county entities. The HSE school board has one appointee. That member is Andre Miksha, whose term ends in August 2025.
Other HEPL board members are appointed by the Hamilton County Council, the Hamilton County Commissioners and the Noblesville School Board. They each have two appointees on the library board.
