Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; James M. Herrick, Assistant Attorney General
Open Meetings Decision
This matter having come before the Attorney General as an appeal under the Open Meetings Act by Todd Bonds against the Walton-Verona Independent Board of Education, we find that jurisdiction is lacking. Because the KRS 61.846(1) complaint out of which this appeal arises failed to "state [any] circumstances which constituted an alleged violation," that complaint was deficient and the issue presented on appeal is not ripe for review. Cf. 13-OMD-155. The procedural background is as follows.
In December 2013, Walton-Verona Superintendent Robert Storer banned Mr. Bonds from the premises of the Board of Education. Mr. Bonds was notified of this fact by Board attorney Donald J. Ruberg. On April 17, 2014, Mr. Bonds addressed a letter to Tina Crase, Chairperson of the Board, calling his ban from Board premises "a ridiculous edict," inquiring what legal authority supported the ban, and asking "[a]s a remedy, in accordance to [ sic ] KRS 61.846, ? that the ban be lifted and all personnel for the district be notified in writing." This letter is evidently what Mr. Bonds relies upon as his complaint pursuant to KRS 61.846(1).
On April 23, 2014, Mr. Ruberg replied to Mr. Bonds' letter, stating in part as follows:
KRS 160.380 permits a school superintendent to regulate the presence of visitors at local public schools. Additionally, KRS 160.290 grants a local school district the authority to "control and manage" the "public schools in its district." Based on this authority, my client banned you from the premises of the Walton-Verona Independent Schools.
? You provide no authority whatsoever which would require the lifting of the ban in general. Accordingly, this request is respectfully denied as well as for the reasons set forth hereafter.
Your letter impliedly asked that the ban be lifted such that you might attend the Walton-Verona Board of Education meeting. This request is also respectfully denied.
KRS 61.840 specifically allows a Board of Education to impose conditions required for the maintenance of order at its meetings. My file is replete with instances wherein your actions and statements have shown that you present a threat or danger to the health, safety and welfare of the school community, including but not limited to staff, students, and families. Additionally, your actions and statements have, to date, significantly disrupted the educational mission of the Walton-Verona Independent Schools. These actions and statements must be view[ed] in conjunction with your criminal history, which is rather extensive.
My client has every reason to believe, in light of your criminal record that your actions and statements will continue to pose a threat or danger to individuals associated with the schools and disrupt the educational mission of the Walton-Verona Board of Education should you be permitted to attend the meeting. Accordingly, your request to lift the ban, insofar as it pertains to the Walton-Verona Independent Board of Education meetings, is denied.
Please be advised that the Walton-Verona Board of Education is willing at all times to consider any and all evidence that demonstrates that you no longer present a threat to the health, safety or welfare of the school community, and will not continue your disruption of the educational mission of my client. Should such evidence be submitted, the Board will once again take up consideration of your request that you be allowed to attend meetings as well as to possibly lift the ban in general.
On April 28, 2014, Mr. Ruberg notified Mr. Bonds that the Board had reconsidered to the extent that Mr. Bonds would "be permitted to attend board meetings as (a) member of the general public, " but would not otherwise be allowed on Board premises. Mr. Bonds initiated an appeal to the Attorney General on May 20, 2014, asking whether it was lawful for the school district to ban him completely from the premises in December 2013. He adds: "I understand it is moot for the purposes of the appeal, however for future references and opinions it might be deemed useful." The letter of appeal raises some additional issues; however, none of those has been the subject of a complaint pursuant to KRS 61.846(1), and thus they are not properly before us.
KRS 61.846(1) requires administrative enforcement of the Open Meetings Act to begin with "a written complaint to the presiding officer of the public agency [which] shall state the circumstances which constitute an alleged violation of KRS 61.805 to 61.850 and shall state what the public agency should do to remedy the alleged violation." (Emphasis added.) While KRS 61.810(1) requires meetings of a quorum of a public agency to be "public meetings, open to the public at all times," Mr. Bonds' complaint did not allege that any meeting was closed to the public; nor, indeed, did he refer to a meeting at all. Rather, he complained that he individually was banned, as a general matter, from the premises of the Walton-Verona Independent Schools. This did not state a violation of the Open Meetings Act. Furthermore, Mr. Bonds acknowledges that his issue is now moot, since he is permitted to attend Board meetings as a member of the general public. 1
Since Mr. Bonds' complaint did not allege a violation of the Open Meetings Act, his appeal is not properly before the Attorney General. We therefore decline jurisdiction over this matter.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.846(4)(a). The Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.
Distributed to:
Mr. Todd BondsDonald J. Ruberg, Esq.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 Although Mr. Bonds suggests in his appeal that members of the media might have attendance rights beyond those of the general public, such as the right to ask questions at a public meeting, that is not the case under the Act. (Mr. Bonds is associated with the website "McScome Sports.")