The New Glarus school board's decision to ask the district's attorney for guidance Monday on compliance with open meetings laws was an encouraging step.
Unfortunately, there have been encouraging signals from the district in the past that have not resulted in more openness and better communication with the public. Hopefully, this time will be different. The residents of the New Glarus school district are counting on that being the case.
New Glarus resident and Wisconsin Newspaper Association Executive Director Peter Fox has been critical of the district, both in public and private conversations with members and in this newspaper's letters to the editor section, for its ambiguous meeting agendas, improper closed sessions and incomplete public postings. His point is that the district is not fully informing the public of what is being discussed by the board and when.
Particularly when discussion items include issues such as referendums, school consolidations and curriculum changes, it's important for the public to have every opportunity to be informed and participate. The state's open meetings laws provide a template for boards and school districts to follow to include the public.
The New Glarus school district, for whatever reason, has struggled to comply with those laws the past couple of years.
In the months leading up to its failed referendum in April 2007, a citizens committee tasked with planning the ballot request met mostly out of the public's view. It's agenda listings rarely changed, and were so brief and general to suggest that nothing important was going on.
Last fall, as Fox pointed out in a letter to the editor, the board's meeting agendas consistently included what he called "boilerplate" language regarding closed sessions. There was no indication of why, specifically, the board's discussion merited being behind closed doors.
And earlier this month Fox pointed out that the board's Committee of the Whole agenda for its Jan. 12 meeting was not posted publicly as state law requires. Only the meeting time, date and place was posted.
District attorney Kirk Strang on Monday told the board its agendas need to be specific enough "to let the public know what you will talk about." He urged the board and its committees to avoid using broad and vague language. He also recommended the district stop its occasional practice of not posting actual agendas in public.
Board President Chris Bowie took the blame for notices and agendas that haven't been properly posted. That's a positive step.
But now it's time for the board, and importantly its district administration, to ensure that open meetings law violations become a thing of the past. Board members are part-time stewards. Their knowledge of the laws and all of its complexities may be limited. But it should be the district administration's responsibility to guide the board through those processes.
Fox said during Monday's board meeting that Green County District Attorney Gary Luhman twice has offered to talk with the board about open meetings rules. If that's the case, the board should most certainly take Luhman up on that offer. All local boards should.
Unfortunately, there have been encouraging signals from the district in the past that have not resulted in more openness and better communication with the public. Hopefully, this time will be different. The residents of the New Glarus school district are counting on that being the case.
New Glarus resident and Wisconsin Newspaper Association Executive Director Peter Fox has been critical of the district, both in public and private conversations with members and in this newspaper's letters to the editor section, for its ambiguous meeting agendas, improper closed sessions and incomplete public postings. His point is that the district is not fully informing the public of what is being discussed by the board and when.
Particularly when discussion items include issues such as referendums, school consolidations and curriculum changes, it's important for the public to have every opportunity to be informed and participate. The state's open meetings laws provide a template for boards and school districts to follow to include the public.
The New Glarus school district, for whatever reason, has struggled to comply with those laws the past couple of years.
In the months leading up to its failed referendum in April 2007, a citizens committee tasked with planning the ballot request met mostly out of the public's view. It's agenda listings rarely changed, and were so brief and general to suggest that nothing important was going on.
Last fall, as Fox pointed out in a letter to the editor, the board's meeting agendas consistently included what he called "boilerplate" language regarding closed sessions. There was no indication of why, specifically, the board's discussion merited being behind closed doors.
And earlier this month Fox pointed out that the board's Committee of the Whole agenda for its Jan. 12 meeting was not posted publicly as state law requires. Only the meeting time, date and place was posted.
District attorney Kirk Strang on Monday told the board its agendas need to be specific enough "to let the public know what you will talk about." He urged the board and its committees to avoid using broad and vague language. He also recommended the district stop its occasional practice of not posting actual agendas in public.
Board President Chris Bowie took the blame for notices and agendas that haven't been properly posted. That's a positive step.
But now it's time for the board, and importantly its district administration, to ensure that open meetings law violations become a thing of the past. Board members are part-time stewards. Their knowledge of the laws and all of its complexities may be limited. But it should be the district administration's responsibility to guide the board through those processes.
Fox said during Monday's board meeting that Green County District Attorney Gary Luhman twice has offered to talk with the board about open meetings rules. If that's the case, the board should most certainly take Luhman up on that offer. All local boards should.
