Looking to quell a persistent dispute among constituents, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee this week voted to ask for a written legal opinion on the longstanding school district practice of accepting cash donations without requiring identification.
The issue arose earlier this year after the high school accepted two cash donations, totaling $5,000, earmarked for the legal case against Oak Bluffs over a special permit for artificial turf on a field.
The donor of $2,000 remained anonymous, while $3,000 was contributed by a named donor on behalf of an unidentified group.
Several Island residents have pushed back at the policy, with some suggesting that the school district is violating finance laws by accepting anonymous cash.
School officials have said the practice is allowed under state law and the committee wanted its attorneys to officially weigh in.
“I don’t want a narrative out there that the school district is doing illegal things,” Island superintendent of schools Richard Smith said at the school committee meeting Monday night, urging the school committee to request the written opinion and make it public.
The Island district will use money from its 2024 legal budget to pay for the written opinion from Murphy, Lamere and Murphy, the education law firm whose attorneys earlier this year verbally advised Mr. Smith that anonymous cash donations are a common and acceptable practice for schools.
At Monday’s committee meeting, school committee member Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter recommended using the remaining money from the controversial donations to pay for the opinion, but found little support for the idea.
Schools around the Island have long accepted cash donations with no questions asked, Mr. Smith said, making it a district-wide practice and not specifically related to the turf suit donations.
