#Education
Target:
AISU Board of Directors
Region:
United States of America

Families and Friends of AISU:

We believe in AISU’s innovative structure and are united by a common desire to see the school succeed and to foster open and honest communication.

Join us for an open evening of transparency and information on Thursday, July 6th at 7 PM at Murray Library. Michael Farley will share his vision for the school, answer questions, and explain what you can do to support AISU.

We also invite you to sign the petition directly below, calling for the school board's accountability to its own bylaws and agreements.

We support an innovative model of education that promotes individualized learning and prevents abuse of power and bureaucracy. We feel deeply that it is our responsibility to ensure the preservation of this school and the model upon which it was founded for the sake of our students. AISU’s model has the potential to change the face of education, and we hope to see its influence spread both domestically and internationally.

Best wishes,

United Parent Voices at AISU

Dear AISU Board of Directors:

We, the undersigned parents, guardians, and community members of AISU (the American International School of Utah), call for a reorganization of AISU’s Board of Directors and Officers based on consistent demonstration of unlawful and unprofessional behavior. Examples include:

1. Terminating employees without due process or actual legal power.

2. Making changes to the school’s financial model (as outlined in the original charter) and engaging in management for American International Schools, LLC (AIS), in a manner that is not in compliance with the AIS Operating Agreement through which $5,000,000 has been invested to support the development of AISU and thus subjecting AISU to legal liabilities.

3. Not providing due notice for Board of Directors meetings.

4. Not providing minutes in a timely manner to the public and community at AISU (and withholding minutes that should be publicly available).

5. Holding closed executive meetings in obscure locations with the intent of excluding interested parties. Making motions and holding votes inside of these executive sessions.

6. Performing business as a board without a quorum present.

7. Making important decisions without consulting AISU’s bylaws and agreements (resulting in non-compliance).

8. Behaving disrespectfully and unprofessionally to members of the public attending board meetings.

9. Openly stating that they will not accept responsibility for their own noncompliance with AISU’s bylaws and charter or Utah’s Open and Public Meetings Act until it is brought to their attention by the manager of AIS (as stated in the June 6th Board of Director’s meeting).

In response, we demand the following:

That the current AISU board members and board officers appoint an interim caretaker board and then resign immediately from their current positions as board members and officers. Recommendations for members of the caretaker replacement board are listed below. Additional individuals may also apply to serve on either the caretaker board or the permanent board (which will be phased in gradually over the course of several months).

Proposed AISU Caretaker Board Members include but are not limited to:

1. Eddie Bangerter: MBA, President of Rocky Mountain Home Care (presence in 7 states).

2. Susan Clar: Business owner (Spanish translation company).

3. Nick Galieti: Bachelors in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, Published Author, Sound Engineer, and Chair of AISU Community Council. Parent to 5 Students at AISU.

4. Marie Pestana: PhD candidate, head of Special Education at a local charter school, former AISU teacher, children at AISU.

5. Laura Briggs Hamilton: 10 years as Director of Operations for a 40 Skilled Nursing Facility, parent council member for Monticello Academy (oversaw construction planning and Land Trust funds), 5 years as Associate Director in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah, four children at AISU.

6. Nicole Rich: Property Manager, Community Volunteer, parent of 2 AISU students, host parent to International students.

Student Body Representative: Katrina Marsden

Following this action, we will expect the following pattern of behavior from our new board of directors:

1. That the board shall provide due notice for board meetings a minimum of 1 week in advance (online postings, in-school notification, email notification to all families and concerned members of AISU).

2. That minutes for board meetings shall be completed and made public within one week of each board meeting and audio recordings available within three days as required by law.

3. That meetings shall be held in a set and standard location. (When that location is changed, advance notice will be provided to the community.)

4. That board members shall acquaint themselves with the school charter and bylaws and act according to expectations set forth in these documents.

As members of this school community, we are loyal to AISU and AIS and to everything these institutions stand for. We support an innovative model of education that promotes individualized learning and prevents abuse of power and bureaucracy. We feel deeply that it is our responsibility to ensure the preservation of this school and the model upon which it was founded for the sake of our students. AISU’s innovative model has the potential to change the face of education, and we hope to see its influence spread both domestically and internationally.

We look forward to your response and welcome discussion and negotiation.

Sincerely,

The Parents, Guardians, and Community Members of AISU
Petition Drafters:
Lisa Reed
Sarah Garrett Barker
Laura Briggs Hamilton
Katie Sealund
Nicole Rich
Natalee Lance

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The AISU Families for Transparency and Communication petition to AISU Board of Directors was written by Parents for Transparency and is in the category Education at GoPetition.