NEW GLARUS - The New Glarus school board was concerned enough about open meetings and agenda complaints that it asked the district's attorney to address the concerns Monday.
Kirk Strang, of Davis and Kuelthau in Madison, told the board it must distinguish between general topics and specific issues when it composes its agendas.
"The subject matter needs enough specific information to let the public know what you will talk about," Strang said. Broad statements on agendas for board meetings and committee meetings should be avoided, he added.
Board member Virginia Dreier-Schween said there are times when the board posts a meeting notice but doesn't include the actual agenda.
Strang said the board shouldn't continue that practice. He said meeting notices posted at various locations in the village should include the agenda, not just the information about the time, date and location of a board or committee meeting.
Meeting agendas also should be finalized and posted 24 hours before a meeting, he said. Only in rare cases should an agenda be finalized and posted within that time period, he said.
Wisconsin Newspaper Association Executive Director Peter Fox, a New Glarus school district resident, told the board he spoke with Green County District Attorney Gary Luhman on Monday and concerns Fox mentioned at previous meetings could be filed with the district attorney's office. He also said Luhman offered for a second time to meet with the board to talk to members about open meeting rules.
Fox said he has no intention of suing the school district, but said it needs to address the problem and correct it.
"The issues I'm trying to bring to your attention are basic," he told the board Monday.
In a Jan. 20 letter to The Monroe Times, Fox said the district agendas didn't include enough information about previous meetings to educate the public as to what would be discussed. "Unless a citizen marched into the school administration building to request an agenda, they likely wouldn't have known about those items because the agenda wasn't properly provided to the public," he said in reference to a Jan. 12 meeting.
In his letter he also mentioned a Jan. 15 meeting that was canceled because of a complaint that the meeting wasn't properly posted and that a portion of the meeting had to be done in public.
At Monday's meeting, board President Chris Bowie took the blame for any notices or agendas that weren't posted properly.
Kirk Strang, of Davis and Kuelthau in Madison, told the board it must distinguish between general topics and specific issues when it composes its agendas.
"The subject matter needs enough specific information to let the public know what you will talk about," Strang said. Broad statements on agendas for board meetings and committee meetings should be avoided, he added.
Board member Virginia Dreier-Schween said there are times when the board posts a meeting notice but doesn't include the actual agenda.
Strang said the board shouldn't continue that practice. He said meeting notices posted at various locations in the village should include the agenda, not just the information about the time, date and location of a board or committee meeting.
Meeting agendas also should be finalized and posted 24 hours before a meeting, he said. Only in rare cases should an agenda be finalized and posted within that time period, he said.
Wisconsin Newspaper Association Executive Director Peter Fox, a New Glarus school district resident, told the board he spoke with Green County District Attorney Gary Luhman on Monday and concerns Fox mentioned at previous meetings could be filed with the district attorney's office. He also said Luhman offered for a second time to meet with the board to talk to members about open meeting rules.
Fox said he has no intention of suing the school district, but said it needs to address the problem and correct it.
"The issues I'm trying to bring to your attention are basic," he told the board Monday.
In a Jan. 20 letter to The Monroe Times, Fox said the district agendas didn't include enough information about previous meetings to educate the public as to what would be discussed. "Unless a citizen marched into the school administration building to request an agenda, they likely wouldn't have known about those items because the agenda wasn't properly provided to the public," he said in reference to a Jan. 12 meeting.
In his letter he also mentioned a Jan. 15 meeting that was canceled because of a complaint that the meeting wasn't properly posted and that a portion of the meeting had to be done in public.
At Monday's meeting, board President Chris Bowie took the blame for any notices or agendas that weren't posted properly.