Utah State Auditor’s Office Denies School District’s GRAMA Request

070913boardAuditor Audio of a portion of the meeting In the July 9, 2013, School Board meeting at Snowbird (annual retreat), the Superintendent distributed a letter that the District received from the Sate Auditor’s Office denying the District’s GRAMA request. Board member Laurel Young then demanded that the superintendent calculate the cost that this and other complaints filed by me are costing the District. I responded that we should also calculate the cost that a 52% … Continue reading

School Board Violating the Open And Public Meetings Act (Video)

At the March 5th, 2013, School Board Meeting about an 1 hour and 42 minutes into the meeting the board president brought up the minutes for our January 8, 2013 meeting. I had initially asked for a minor change and to have my “Point of Order” letter included as part of the minutes. Instead of doing so in our February 5th meeting the board president pulled them from the agenda and we did not act on them. I had made the request a total of six times via email, letter or in person.

Above is a picture of B-2 School Board Meetings Administrative Procedures. It states the following:

5. Recordings and Minutes for Board Meetings:

a. Written minutes and recording will include:

• he date, time and place of the meeting;

• the names of the members present and absent;

• the substance of all actions taken;

• the names of all citizens who appeared and a brief summary of their testimony; and

• any other information that any member requests be entered in the recording and minutes.

The underlined part is what I quote in the meeting. This language comes right out of the Utah Code 52-4-203.   Written minutes of open meetings — Public records — Recording of meetings.

Yet this stumps the School Board President and other members of the school board and now we are going to expend our neighbor’s tax dollars and have an attorney come in and explain it to us.

What am I missing?? I have been on the Board for two months, serving with people who have been on the board for a decade and this is the first time this has come up?

They did not invite the attorney at the next meeting as was agreed. The following month they did however, concede that they were not following the open meetings act: Link to Blog Posting