January 10th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

The status of Allegany County School Board member Wayne Foote appears to be an issue that will be a focal point during the early part of new board’s tenure – with members Robert Farrell and David Bohn anxious to see the matter resolved as quickly as possible.  During a special meeting called by the previous, outgoing board at the end of December- a resolution calling for the state to remove Foote from office for alleged misconduct was approved by a 4-1 vote. One of the first actions taken this week by the new board was to remove longtime legal counsel Gary Hanna- based at least in part upon the manner in which he handled the December resolution. In addition, the board voted to have the interim attorneys- the law firm Geppert, McMullen, Paye and Getty- review the resolution to provide options moving forward.  That could include attempting to rescind the December action. When that matter came to the table for a vote- board member Tammy Fraley noted that the ethics committee has opined that Foote not be permitted to vote since he will be directly impacted by the action being considered. Board president Farrell dismissed the complaint, noting that the previous board allowed Foote to vote on the initial resolution- and thus he should be allowed to vote on any related matters…