Triton School Board wastes taxpayers’ money on ignored advice

The Dodge County Independent has written about transparency often on its editorial page, and once again, it will have to be used to call out government officials trying to hide information from the public.

As you may have read on page A1, the Triton School District, and its responsible body, the School Board, dismissed the advice by an attorney they hired on their own, and decided to go with the Dodge Center Messenger as its legal newspaper.

For numerous reasons, we condemn this decision by the School Board, and not the least being that an attorney they hired opined months ago that the Messenger was not a legal newspaper under Minnesota statute.

To be clear, thousands of dollars were spent on receiving a legal opinion from a Twin Cities attorney, who has an expertise in education law, in order to determine whether or not the Messenger was a legal newspaper.

Despite the attorney warning about continuing with the Messenger, the School Board doubled down, by picking them during its annual review in July (a time when most people aren’t paying attention to government body meetings).

While Triton Superintendent Craig Schlichting claims he spoke to the Minnesota School Board Association and received advice that the Messenger was a legal newspaper to use, it’s important to point out the School Board Association was one of the main vocal advocates for legislation which would all but gut legal ads as we know it.

This newspaper, along with others across the state, stood up last spring, defending the importance of legal advertisements, while the MSBA, and others stood up to say they weren’t needed.

As a newspaper we have yet to be able to independently verify the conversation took place, what was said, who said it, or whether the many issues opined in the legal opinion by the attorney hired by the School Board were considered. As we pointed out in our story, the MSBA spokespeople, not surprisingly, have yet to respond to our questions.

Schlichting claims the School Board association told him “MSBA advised that if a paper is listed as a legal paper, that it is in fact safe for a school to use.”

We must as a newspaper call this out, which we previously had done in direct correspondence with Schlichting. For starters, as it was laid out in the legal opinion, there are many other factors which qualify a newspaper as a legal newspaper or not.

Secondly, even if what MSBA allegedly said was true, this would be cause for grave concern, and would, in our view, require major legislative changes to the law.

But don’t take our word for it. This statement comes directly from the Minnesota Secretary of State website:

“Newspapers must satisfy several requirements to be a legal newspaper, including that they register with the Minnesota Secretary of State and pay a $25 application fee. The fact that a newspaper is included on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s legal newspaper list does not prove the newspaper has satisfied all criteria necessary to be a legal newspaper. You are responsible for ensuring any newspaper that you use is qualified to be a legal newspaper under Minnesota law.”

It is also important to point out there are many newspapers listed as “legal newspapers” which aren’t even in business anymore.

If it is true the MSBA gave the advice Schlichting claims, then well, we are sure every parent may be concerned with their leadership providing advice to school districts on educational matters.

While some entities such as the Dodge County Commissioners, and Dodge Center City Council, City of Claremont, City of Hayfield, and others have stuck with the DCI as its legal newspaper for many of the reasons we have described, we as a paper are also calling on the City of West Concord to take immediate action and end its practice of publishing legal notices in the Messenger.

This newspaper reached out to West Concord City Administrator Paula Even Trenda about this issue and provided a copy of the memo written by the attorney.

It is deeply concerning that there was no mention of this to Trenda up to this point, and it’s also concerning that this was the first time she read the letter.

One would expect her to at least look into the matter, or have some concerns, instead when asked “No, I am not.”

This complete lack of seriousness government officials seem to be taking on this matter is appalling.

In our view, the sham taking place by the School Board, is nothing but a waste of taxpayers money. When property owners tax bills come in, most think the money is going towards education purposes only.

The reason why newspapers ask tough questions and hold government officials accountable is for these exact reasons. In return, the hope is it will benefit those in the community.

In this case, there was education taking place, a high paid and trained attorney educated the school district, and instead of a good student, School Board members complained about the results of the test and sought a friendly ear who would agree with them — the MSBA. This is flawed on so many levels.

As a newspaper, we call on the Triton School Board, and the City of West Concord to take immediate action, and reverse its decision to use the Messenger, until when or if the newsletter style paper meets Minnesota’s standards.