Public meeting laws must be followed

Kudos to Steven Sultemeier and Steve Gacke for taking the Naselle/Grays River Valley School Board of Directors to task over alleged violations of the state Open Public Meetings Act.

In a complaint filed May 6 in Pacific County Superior Court, the men claim the school board violated the act by holding a special meeting March 9 without posting the required 24 hours notice in advance for the public, despite Sultemeier's warning that the notice was required.

The men also claim that the board's agendas for the March 9 meeting and a February 11 meeting don't adequately list the business to be conducted, as required in the public meetings act.

The men ask the court

1. To declare any and all decisions made at the meetings to be null and void;

2. To assess civil penalties of $100 against each individual member of the board who attended the March 9 meeting;

3. To assess a civil penalty of $100 against each individual member of the board who attended the February 11 meeting;

4. To award plaintiffs' costs and attorney's fees;

5. For an injunction prohibiting future violations of the public meetings act;

6. To require the defendants to take corrective action as the court determines is appropriate, and

7. For such other and further relief as the court may deem appropriate.

The school district has yet to respond to the complaint, and if the case goes to court, who knows how the law will be interpreted?

Nevertheless, a good outcome would be for the board members to go through a seminar on the requirements of the public meetings act.

And, they're not the only local elected officials who could use the extra training. We, more often that we'd like, encounter local agencies wondering what they can do to get around the public meetings act.

Elected officials often attend conferences with meetings law sessions, but it seems like when the rubber hits the road, they're often looking for shortcuts.

For the most part, the agencies we deal with try to give adequate notice of special meetings.

Some give it well in advance, others look at 24 hours and one minute.

It makes one wonder how much they want the public involved.