Counsel says VCSC violated Indiana’s Open Door Law - MyWabashValley.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The Vigo County School Corporation violated Indiana law during the process of consolidating Meadows Elementary School, a formal advisory opinion issued Wednesday by the Indiana Public Access Counselor said.

“In this case we consider whether an advisory committee established by a school board is subject to the Open Door Law, and if so, whether the committee’s closed meetings constitute a violation of the law,” the opinion filed by Indiana PAC Luke H. Britt read.

The counselor had previously filed an informal opinion in January concerning whether an advisory committee established by the VCSC to discuss Meadows’ future was subject to the state’s Open Door Law. In that informal opinion, PAC Britt said that the committee should be considered a direct offshoot of the school board and therefore is subject to Open Door Law.

“Therefore, to the extent the task force meets behind closed doors without the requisite notice being posted, it will be violating the Open Door Law,” the informal opinion read.

Soon after the informal opinion was filed on Jan. 7, the PAC received another formal complaint on Jan. 11 following a school board meeting where the VCSC disagreed with the opinion, documents show. In response, the VCSC said “the committee was an ad hoc assembly of parents, community members, administrators and teachers selected by the Director of Elementary Education.”

The VCSC, Britt said in Wednesday’s formal opinion, argued that it provided public invitations to the committee and held an application process to determine its roster. The committee first met in July 2020 and provided recommendations, which were vetted by administrators and presented to and ultimately ratified by the school board.

“VCSC contends because the committee was ‘ad hoc’, it is not subject to the Open Door Law provisions,” Britt wrote in the PAC formal opinion.

However, PAC Britt publicly disagreed with the VCSC’s assessment in the formal opinion filed Wednesday, arguing that the advisory committee does meet the Open Door Law’s definition of a governing body and that it did take political action, regardless of if the actions were binding decisions.

The formal opinion also said that the discussion of an elementary school’s future is by definition public business and therefore requires a public meeting. Furthermore, while the VCSC contends it did send public invitations to the committee, Britt said it was not enough transparency.

“Although it is VCSC’s point is well taken that the schoolboard went to some effort to publicly assess the initiative and invite public comment, the committee’s deliberative process was shrouded in secrecy,” the formal opinion read. “By the time the recommendations were presented, the damage had already been done. The secrecy does nothing but invite more suspicion and scrutiny.”

Based on this evidence, the formal opinion from the Indiana Public Access Counselor concluded the following:

“The Vigo County School Corporation authorized an official committee to operate behind closed doors and take official action on public business outside of a public meeting contrary to the Open Door Law.”

Conclusion by Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt in a formal opinion filed Wednesday

In an official response to the opinion, the VCSC responded with the following statement:

“The Vigo County School Corporation is grateful for this new guidance as well as the Public Access Counselor’s commitment to update the Public Access Handbook that many school corporations and governmental entities rely upon. We look forward to receiving the new Public Access Handbook. The Vigo County School Corporation will implement this new guidance going forward by issuing notices that the consolidation committee will be meeting in closed sessions as permitted by Indiana’s Open Door Law and as approved by Public Access Counselor Britt.”

Statement from the Vigo County School Corporation regarding Wednesday’s formal opinion

In the formal opinion the PAC office also acknowledged that if it had previously given alternative guidance in similar situations, it will remedy that in future editions of the Public Access Handbook.

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source: https://www.mywabashvalley.com/news/local-news/__trashed-7/

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