***image1***School activist group says board not open enough.
It's no secret the group Citizens for Better Schools is critical of the Santa Fe school district's administration and-in some cases-board members.
But, then again, there aren't supposed to be secrets when it comes to public business.
That's why elected bodies, such as the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education, are subject to state "sunshine" laws such as the Open Meetings Act. The law prescribes what topics can be discussed behind closed doors as well as how the public should be kept notified of public meetings.
Citizens for Better Schools contends the board isn't open enough.
Under the Open Meetings Act, most board business must be discussed in public. There are, however, certain topics that can be exempted from public discussion. These items are usually discussed in what's known as an "executive session." However, the law clearly states that items to be discussed in executive session must be described with specificity beforehand. The complaint against the Santa Fe school board is that it does not state the items for its executive agendas with enough specificity, and may just state "Executive Session." By contrast, City Council agendas often make reference to the specific litigation or personnel matter that will be discussed in executive session.
Board President Martin Lujan says the board has consulted with its attorney on this and, "We feel we're in compliance."
In May, SFR received a complaint that the board had not included the topic of an executive session on its agenda. Spokeswoman Ruthanne Greeley told SFR the board was not required to because it was on a retreat at that time.
Bob Johnson from the Foundation for Open Government-a statewide watchdog organization-says calling a meeting a retreat does not excuse the body from following the Open Meetings Act.
Board Member Marcy Litzenberg says during the retreat, "Someone accused us of being out of compliance. We made a big point of stopping until we had verified that we had followed the required steps." An evaluation of Supt. Gloria Rendón was the topic discussed at the executive session held during the retreat.
But Citizens for Better Schools believes the board has been secretive. Violation of board policy regarding meetings is one of the reasons CBS member Mitch Buszek says the group is seeking to recall Board President Lujan. CBS member Fred Flatt at the board meeting two weeks ago said the board had violated its own policy by not posting notice of its agenda 24 hours before the meeting. "I would like to see overall a little more transparency in their actions," Flatt says. "Nobody's going to jail over this, but the board has not been real professional when it comes to openness."
Litzenberg says those interested in attending the meeting should have known it was being held because "we passed a resolution at the beginning of the year that we would have meetings at regularly scheduled times, and we don't waver from that."
Board Member Frank Montaño agrees with Litzenberg. "Everybody knows when our meetings are scheduled," he says. However, Montaño adds, "Technically [at this recent meeting], my understanding was that the agenda wasn't posted, so I guess you could make an argument that school board policy wasn't followed." But, Montaño continues, "There's no definition of what 'posted' means. I guess you could assume it should be put up somewhere. I was told even though it wasn't posted, it was available at the front reception desk. It's not like if somebody really wanted to find out where the agenda was, they wouldn't have been able to find it."
Board Secretary Mary Ellen Gonzales says she needs to reread board policy and the Open Meetings Act. "I feel like I don't know enough, and I should," she says. She also says she's not sure if the agenda had been posted. "It seems to me when I go in there, the agenda has been posted on the door," she says. "I haven't paid a whole lot of attention. Believe me, I will from now on."
