Request By:
John T. Davis
Managing Editor
The Advocate-Messenger
326 West Walnut Street
Box 149
Danville, Kentucky 40422
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Carl T. Miller, Jr., Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General concerning the recent action of the Lincoln County Board of Education in relation to the Kentucky Open Meetings Law. You state the following facts:
"On February 24, the school board's 'committee', comprised of all five board members, the school superintendent, a principal, a school supervisor and the board's attorney, met in private session with a committee comprised of representatives from the Lincoln County Education Association and their legal counsel. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a proposed policy by the LCEA dealing with a reduction in teaching staff. Please find a copy of the proposal enclosed.
This was the second such meeting of the two committees to discuss the proposed policy. Although the school board members generally agreed among themselves for their committee to meet privately with the LCEA committee, they did not take an official vote."
You also state that the minutes of the meeting contain no record indicating the school board voted to close the committee meeting to the public and press.
We make the following observations on the facts you have stated:
1. Under KRS 61.810 whenever a quorum of the members of any public agency meet and discuss any public business the meeting is a public meeting as defined in the Open Meetings Law, KRS 61.805 to 61.850. Even though the board of education called itself a committee and added several other people to the "committee" it was required to comply with the Open Meetings Law.
Courier Journal v. University of Louisville, Ky.App., 596 S.W.2d 374 (1980).
2. There are five subject matter exceptions which allow an agency to go into closed session listed in KRS 61.810 but before the agency goes into closed session it must observe the provisions of KRS 61.815 which are:
(1) Notice shall be given in regular open meeting of the general nature of the business to be discussed in the closed session and the reasons for the closed session;
(2) Closed sessions may be held only after a motion is made and carried by majority vote in open, public session;
(3) No final action may be taken at a closed session;
(4) No matters may be discussed at a closed session other than those publicly announced prior to convening the closed session.
3. One of the exceptions which permits a closed session is "collective bargaining negotiations between public employers and their employees or their representatives." KRS 61.810(5). However, from the facts you have provided to us, we are unable to determine whether this exception applies in this case.
4. A newspaper reporter has the same standing as any other citizen and a reporter cannot be barred from a meeting unless all other nonparticipants in the meeting are also barred.
5. The minutes of a public agency should show that the Open Meetings Law was complied with when a closed session was held.
The foregoing observations comprise the official opinion of the Attorney General on your questions concerning the Open Meetings Law.