Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Executive Sessions

The public meetings our of Board of Education are quite informative and often entertaining, as the Board makes it a point to give time for the kids at the host school to show their stuff. Every member of our community should make it a point to attend a meeting every once in a while, and not just the ones involving your own kids. The Board publishes minutes of past meetings, and the agenda of future meetings along with the meeting schedules on the district website.

When the official part of the meeting gets started, you'll notice that the Board proceeds through its agenda with little discussion, taking votes on a variety of matters, strictly according to the script/agenda. A little time is offered at the beginning of the meeting for public comments, but the speakers are reasonably limited to 3 minutes each, and the Board members are not required to respond in any way.

At the end of the meeting, the Board, the Superintendent and the Treasurer often adjourn to Executive Session. This part of the meeting is closed to the public, and no minutes (if taken) are disclosed.

State law allows school boards to enter into these closed sessions for specific reasons only (source):

  • consider matters involving personnel;
  • consider the purchase or sale of property;
  • consult with an attorney;
  • prepare for, conduct or review negotiations with employees;
  • consider matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or state statutes;
  • consider specialized details of security arrangements; or
  • conferences called by a member of the Ohio Auditor's Office or an appointed certified public accountant for the purpose of an audit.

The public minutes do reflect the purpose of the closed session and its duration. Here are some recent examples:

  • 11/27/06: "to discuss personnel and land acquisition" - 7:32pm to 10:55pm (3hrs 23mins)
  • 11/15/06: "to discuss personnel and land acquisition" - 7:59pm to 10:45pm (2hrs 46 mins)
  • 10/23/06: "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." - 7:55pm to 9:40pm (1hr 45 mins)
  • 10/5/06: "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." - 6:13pm - 10:08pm (3hrs 55 mins)
  • 8/28/06: "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." 8:02pm - 9:15pm (1hr 13mins)
  • 8/14/06: "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." 8:19pm - 10:30pm (2hrs 11mins)
  • 7/10/06: "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." 7:37pm - 8:41pm (1hr 4 mins)
  • 6/23/06 (held outside the district): "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." 3:30pm - 5:35pm (2hrs 5mins)
  • 6/22/06 (held outside the district): "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." 9:19pm - 9:45pm (16 mins)
  • 5/8/06: "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." 7:46pm - 9:06pm (1hr 20mins)
  • 2/12/07: "to discuss the appointment, employment, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of any employee... , and the purchase ... or sale of property..." 7:37pm - 9:39pm (2hrs 2 mins)
  • 2/26/07: "to discuss personnel and land acquisition." 8:22pm - 11:00pm (2hrs 38mins)
  • 3/12/07: "to discuss the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of an employee or the investigation of charges or complaints against an employee, official, licensee or student, unless the employee, official, licensee or student requests a public hearing; and the purchase of property for public purposes or the sale of property at competitive bidding." 8:47pm-11:07pm (2hr 20mins)

I haven't done the math, but it looks like the Board spends about as much time in Executive Session as it does in its public session.

I am concerned that Executive Session is being used to discuss matters outside the scope provided by law, and that the public is being deprived of important information about how our Board reaches its decisions. I understand that they receive briefing books from the Superintendent and Treasurer prior to each meeting, but those should serve only to give them background, not substitute for a public discussion of the agenda items. The Ohio School Board Association give clear guidance about Executive Session, but our Board does not seem to comply.

Note that several members of the Madison-Plains Board of Education were recently removed from office upon petition to the Ohio District Court claiming that, among other things, the Board members were holding lengthy Executive Sessions and short public sessions (see article).

What do you think?

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