Armstrong Sues Fellow School Board Members, District Treasurer

Stow-Munroe Falls School Board Member Rod Armstrong filed a complaint Monday claiming there was an "improper convening of executive sessions [Aug. 13, 2012], failure to record minutes of public meetings, violation of free speech and defamation."

 before it was over because he said it was an "illegal meeting."

"On Monday night SMFCSD Board went in to an executive meeting of which I had no prior knowledge," Armstrong previously wrote in a statement, reported by the Stow Sentry. "I soon realized that this was an illegal meeting which should have been under the guideline of [Ohio Revised Code] 121.22 (g) (1). At that time I left the meeting."

a YouTube video of the Aug. 13 meeting.

The complaint was filed by Armstrong's attorney, Warner Mendenhall — who was not immediately available for comment — in Summit County Court of Common Pleas Aug. 28.

The suit was filed against Treasurer/CFO Catherine Bulgrin and all of Armstrong's fellow elected board members. 

The district's attorney, Adam Miller, was not immediately available for comment. 

In the complaint, Armstrong is asking the board to “provide and maintain accurate minutes of all meetings and to provide adequate reasons for executive sessions in conformity with Ohio law.” He also asks for $500 for each executive session that could be deemed inaccurate without the proper records of minutes.

For more updates as they come in, continue to check Stow Patch.