In 1977, the State of Utah passed the Open Meetings Act (OMA). Its purpose is to ensure that “the state, its agencies, and its political subdivisions take their actions openly and conduct their deliberations openly.” By most measures, the School Board is one of the most open political groups in our community. Every meeting is recorded on video, is generally available within a few days of a meeting, and is placed on their website. \u00a0Yet, one aspect of their meetings seems\u00a0clouded in secrecy.<\/p>\n
If you attend a Summit County Council meeting or a City Council meeting there will often be a Public Comment<\/strong> period. \u00a0At the Park Rag we call it Open Mic. \u00a0It’s a great chance for the public to share opinions and ask questions.<\/strong> \u00a0In those meetings with the county or city, the public receives an immediate response from various members of the Council. \u00a0For instance, I once asked the City Council whether they had already agreed to allow a gondola from Deer Valley to Main Street. \u00a0Deer Valley’s President Bob Wheaton had\u00a0appeared\u00a0to\u00a0imply that there was already an agreement during a previous speech. Various City Council members, the City Manager, and Mayor took turns explaining how the media often gets things wrong. However, what I did receive was immediate feedback and feedback from individuals. I knew exactly where City Manager Diane Foster stood, for example.<\/p>\n Contrast that with what seems typical of the School Board. When the public asks questions during Public Comment, there is not an immediate response.<\/strong> A response is later posted to the School District’s website. \u00a0What’s wrong with that? \u00a0First, from a citizen’s perspective, we elect individuals<\/strong> to the Board. \u00a0If the response is a generic reply from the board<\/em>, how do we judge what each elected official is thinking? \u00a0 Second, from the Open Meetings Act (OMA) perspective, deliberations are not taking place in public. \u00a0This is where there may be implications for our School Board.<\/p>\n The OMA does say, “Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to restrict a member of a public body from transmitting an electronic\u00a0message to other members of the public body at a time when the public body is not convening.” Yet, the OMA defines a meeting as a “convening of a public body or a specified body, with a quorum present, including a workshop or an executive session, whether in person or by means of electronic communications, for the purpose of discussing, receiving comments from the public about, or acting upon a matter over which the public body or specific body has jurisdiction or advisory power.” So, if School Board member Charles Cunningham emails School Board President Moe Hickey, that’s not a problem.<\/p>\n However, what if President Hickey emails the School Board members and says, “what do you think our response to the\u00a0public comment on the PC CAPS building last Tuesday should be?” Emails go back and forth between a majority of board members discussing the matter and a discussion ensues via email. \u00a0One of the Board members then types up a summary of the discussion and has it posted to the website. \u00a0In effect, a meeting has taken place with a quorum of the School Board, items have been discussed, and decisions on policy may have been made. \u00a0The OMA requires decisions to be made in public. Since there was no meeting\u00a0and no opportunity for the public to participate in the email discussion, it could violate the Open Meetings Act.<\/p>\n This of course, may not be how the process is happening. \u00a0Perhaps there is another open meeting where these topics are discussed. \u00a0If so, we can’t seem to find it in any meeting notes. \u00a0Likewise perhaps one member of the board has been selected to speak on every matter, without input from other board members. \u00a0We would be both surprised and disappointed if that was the case.<\/p>\n So, if emails are being used to discuss and decide on a response to public comment, is it illegal? \u00a0Someone would likely need to bring this to court to find out. \u00a0The OMA does say that emails can be sent between members but never qualifies whether a discussion\u00a0with a majority of public body members via email violates the act. \u00a0Common sense would say\u00a0that an “email meeting” is still a meeting and subject to the OMA, otherwise this\u00a0loophole could be used all the time for private, group conversations to skirt the law. \u00a0Either way, it seems to violate the spirit of the law.<\/strong><\/p>\n Our hope is that the School Board will decide to respond immediately during meetings to public comment. \u00a0This not only serves the public interest better, but it takes away a legal question that could arise\u00a0in the future. \u00a0The School Board has done an admirable job of using technology to enable\u00a0anyone to\u00a0“virtually” attend a meeting. \u00a0Let’s hope they don’t continue to tarnish this\u00a0success by keeping this part of the meeting in the dark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 1977, the State of Utah passed the Open Meetings Act (OMA). 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