West Genesee BOE - David C. Bills Edited Meeting Minutes Back Up!!
Hi Camillus ! Looks like the meeting minutes for the fabled April 22, 2026 meeting are back up!!
👉 Learning together part 5: West Genesee Transparency
So like most things I turned this into a learning experience, for me and anyone who looks at this site
Lets talk the actual law for a second 👈
New York Public Officers Law § 106 says minutes must be available, within two weeks from the date of such meeting.
That would put the deadline for the meeting:
April 22 + 14 calendar days = May 6, 2026
New York Public Officers Law § 106
What I can say is the meeting minutes were there within the deadline originally but at some point were not available as of May 7, 2026. <- after deadline. They returned May 8 edited.
Do with that what you will
Because I have the original text of the meeting I was curious as to if it was the same and what had changed. There are a bunch of grammar corrections and in some cases regression (not that I am a grammar genius). I was however interested in the main statement from David C. Bills that I talk about here.
👉 Learning Together Part 3: West Genesee Marketing Speak
Meeting Minutes Text Comparison: I only used the David C. Bills Statement there are other differences maybe I ask that question in another post 👇
Below is the original captured version compared with the reposted version. The highlighted sections show the area where the wording differs.
David Bills began with a reminder that the Budget Public Hearing will take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. He described academic achievements and pointed out the many successes outside the classroom, including a comprehensive Fine Arts program with a quality Dance program. Christine DeMass described the budget process and development factors, noting that West Genesee is now a "Save Harmless" District. She reviewed the current budget to the proposed budget by categories, the proposed reductions, revenue resources, how the tax rate is established, and the propositions that will be on the ballot. The Board had asked what would happen if the budget was voted down, so Christine explained the different scenarios that could occur. She gave examples of non-contingent items that could be affected.
Mr. Bills added that many people have asked what happened to the $48 million we were getting from the state for the Capital Project, and the answer is that it went away, that money was for the Capital Project and since it was voted down, we are not getting that money.
Aaron Ryder wanted to clarify that Jeffrey Reina said
Note: The original captured text shown here ends at this point.
David Bills began with a reminder that the Budget Public Hearing will take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. He described academic achievements and pointed out the many successes outside the classroom, including a comprehensive Fine Arts program with a quality Dance program. Christine DeMass described the budget process and development factors, noting that West Genesee is now a "Save Harmless" District. She reviewed the current budget to the proposed budget by categories, the proposed reductions, revenue resources, how the tax rate is established, and the propositions that will be on the ballot. The Board had asked what would happen if the budget was voted down, so Christine explained the different scenarios that could occur. She gave examples of non-contingent items that could be affected.
Mr. Bill pointed out the cause for some of the necessary increases in the new budget and reviewed some areas where cuts would be made if the budget doesn't pass. He added that he has heard people talking about what happened to the $48 million we were getting from the state for the Capital Project, and the answer is that it went away, that money was for the Capital Project and since it was voted down, we are not getting that money.
Aaron Ryder wanted to clarify timelines if the budget needed to be put back out for a revote and thanked David and Christine for keeping the Board informed. Jeffrey Reina thanked David and Christine for putting this information together so people will have a better idea of the implications of voting down the budget.
Mr. Bills’ wording apparently changed from “many have asked” to “I have heard.”
That may seem small, but it changes the whole flavor of the statement.
“Many have asked” sounds like a wave of public concern.
“I have heard” sounds like something floating around in the administrative fog machine.
So sure lets go with his new statement. 🤣
Mr. Bills said:
“He added that he has heard people talking about what happened to the $48 million we were getting from the state for the Capital Project, and the answer is that it went away, that money was for the Capital Project and since it was voted down, we are not getting that money”
LOL One more time.
Also, let’s not skip over this part.👇
When the West Genesee School Board publishes meeting minutes, then takes them down, edits them, and reposts them after the date they were supposed to be publicly available, that matters.
Because from what I can see, there is no clear indication on the meeting minutes that an edit was made.
No obvious revision note.
No change log.
No “updated on” date.
No indication of who changed what.
So unless you are watching the public record in real time, the public record can quietly become whatever they say it is after the fact.
In theory they could go back and edit as far as 2022 , I will let you know if I come across any in my queries as I have that data.
And that is not a small transparency issue.😉
That is the kind of thing that makes people wonder whether they are looking at a public record, or a polished-up version of one.🤔
Rock on Camillus!
Peace, Love and Edits.
-RTN
