Legal counsel emails detail SJSD board member forfeits position by voting to hire son
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — A St. Joseph School District Board of Education member has asked the board to rescind her vote that approved her son for hire, but legal counsel said the rescission will not erase the Missouri Constitution violation.
Board member Kim Miller has not resigned from her position after voting for and approving the hiring of her son at the March board meeting. According to guidance from the Ed Counsel, the violation should result in Miller's resignation.
According to multiple sources, who wished to remain anonymous citing concern of retaliation, KQ2 has learned that Ed Counsel told board president LaTonya Williams in an email that "if the board member voted to hire her son, then that board member has forfeited her position as a board member under the Missouri Constitution and the cases interpreting it."
KQ2 submitted a sunshine request to SJSD for a chain of emails between Williams, Miller and the Ed Counsel, which was returned with redactions, including a question from Williams and a response from the Ed Counsel.
KQ2 was able to obtain an unredacted copy of a chain of emails between Miller and Williams from an anonymous source.
In the response, Ed Counsel said Miller's vote could not be rescinded to correct the error. The emailed response mentioned that even if the vote was not purposeful, the result is still the same because the law does not require specific intent.
The email also said that the board member cannot resign and then "be reappointed by the board to serve the remainder of her term under the board vacancy process."
Williams sent Ed Counsel's response to all board members on March 27, almost a week before Miller's request to her rescind her vote.
Miller sent a letter to fellow board members on April 2 asking them to rescind the personnel vote taken during the March board meeting.
KQ2 also obtained Miller's letter through a sunshine request, where she said the request to rescind her vote is a "proactive measure to avoid any potential appearance of a conflict of interest, not an admission of a violation of law or board policy."
Miller added that she did not engage in deliberation, discussion or influence over her son's employment recommendation.
KQ2 reached out to Miller following the discovery of the violation in late March, where she replied saying she could not speak on the manner. KQ2 reached out a second time for Miller's comment, following her letter to the board, but have not received a response back.
Consequences for the violation could result in Miller's removal of office by the Missouri Ethics Commission and/or the Attorney General's Office.
The board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday for a reorganization meeting to swear in its two new board members— Cassandra Veale and Jacob McMillian following last week's General Municipal Election. The board will also choose a president and vice president.
A work session will follow the reorganization meeting, with one topic of discussion being "Board Business" where the board is expected to discuss Miller's violation.
