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From the start let’s stress the obvious: Greater Nanticoke Area School Board Member Matthew Landmesser is innocent until proven guilty regarding a charge of invasion of privacy. On Wednesday Landmesser waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Luzerne County Central Court.
But Landmesser clearly is guilty on a separate issue: He has neglected his responsibilities as a School Board member.
Approved minutes of board meetings clearly show Landmesser has not attended a meeting since the January 14 session. And while the minutes from the July 15 meeting won’t be approved until next month’s gathering, Landmesser was absent that time as well.
At both the June meeting and the one last week, the present board members unanimously voted to ask Landmesser to resign, specifically because of the continuous absences. Yet the board has not invoked a section of the Pennsylvania School Code that allows it to vote on removing a person from the board if he or she misses two consecutive meetings.
On both occasions, Solicitor Vito Deluca said that, while the code theoretically allows such action, the legal reality is more complicated. For starters, fuzzy language in that section of the code provides potential loopholes. Removal of a chronically absent member is allowed “unless detained by sickness, or prevented by necessary absence from the district.” The question becomes one of proving a board member did not have a valid reason for missing meetings.
Deluca also cited court cases that ruled against such ouster based on meeting absence, further muddying the waters. In fact, Deluca added, even if Landmesser is convicted (a dispositional hearing is set for Aug. 30), The board may remain powerless when it comes to ousting him. Such action could easily require a judge’s ruling, regardless of the circumstances.
But there is, of course, a much simpler way to resolve the whole thing without involving courts or even any votes by the School Board. Board President Tony Prushinski was — as he often is when he decides to speak his mind — both blunt and succinct after the vote last week seeking Landmesser’s resignation.
“I implore all members to attend meetings,” he said, adding that Landmesser’s absence at the June meeting led to a 4-4 tie on an agreement with non-union employees. That, he said “wasn’t fair to the employees, the staff, the taxpayers, and it certainly wasn’t fair to the school board.”
After the meeting, as he sat taking care of some routine paperwork while Deluca again discussed with reporters the potential legal tangles should the board vote to remove Landmesser, Prushinski cut through the Gordian knot.
“He should just come to the meetings, that would make this go away.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Landmesser’s legal problems look increasingly cut and dried, with police saying there is video from cameras in his residence, where he allowed a woman to stay. If the footage shows the inappropriate behavior alleged, mounting an effective defense seems daunting. And Landmesser’s decision to waive his preliminary hearing hints at the likelihood of a guilty plea.
Either way, his responsibilities as an elected representative on the School Board are unequivocal, and call for one of two actions.
Mr. Landmesser, either start showing up to vote at board meetings, or resign so someone more responsible to the public can take the seat.
— Times Leader