ROCHESTER - At 5 p.m. today an assistant attorney for the city, will present his findings following an investigation into alleged ethics violations against two Rochester school board members.
It will be the first such hearing since the Board of Ethics was established in December of 2023.
The public is invited to attend the hearing, which will be livestreamed by the city and take place at City Hall.
The purpose of the meeting "is simply procedural," according to Public Information Assistant Cassie Givara.
The ethics complaints against against Karen Stokes and Sandra Keans were both filed by fellow school board member Steven Cusumano, who accuses Stokes of "abusive conduct or verbal attacks upon the character or motives of other board members; not practicing civility and decorum in discussions and debate; and demeaning or personally attacking an employee regarding the employee's job performance in public."
The complaint against Keans accuses her of disseminating privileged information.
The sole purpose of this meeting is to accept the reports from the Ethics Investigation led by Assistant City Attorney Andrew Kroeckel.
While Kroeckel led the investigation, Rochester City Manager Katie Ambrose said it would be with the cooperation and full assistance and support of all city personnel.
The Board of Ethics includes Dan Fitzpatrick from City Council, Sarah Harrington from the school board and John Larochelle from the police commission.
Following the meeting, a public hearing will be scheduled during which Kroeckel will present the findings, after which Stokes and Keans will have the opportunity to respond to the accusations.
While the hearing will be open to the public, no public comment will be accepted.
At the end of the hearing the board will deliberate and determine whether a violation of the City's Code of Ethics has occurred. If a violation is found, the board will issue a formal finding and may recommend additional actions, including possible sanctions. Any findings and recommendations will be referred to the full school board for further action.