Gazette suit: D-49 board flouted open-meetings law

The Gazette sued the Falcon School District 49 school board on Thursday alleging the five-member panel violated the Colorado Open Meetings Law twice in February when it met in secret to discuss the elimination of 13 administrative jobs.

The newspaper accuses the board of not giving required public notice before adjourning into executive sessions on Feb. 19 and Feb. 25. The suit said board members "discussed, deliberated and came to a consensus" on the proposed job cuts. The 13-page civil suit seeks all audiotapes of the two sessions.

Gazette reporter Carol McGraw had requested tapes of the meetings but was denied. She is a plaintiff in the lawsuit with The Gazette.

The suit was filed by Gazette attorney Steven Zansberg in 4th Judicial District Court. As an alternative to a full release of the tapes, the suit asks the court for a review of the tapes, privately, in chambers.

In a March 11 letter sent to District 49's attorney, Brad Miller, requesting the tapes, Zansberg said the board failed to give specific reasons for the closed-door session, as the open-meetings law requires.

Zansberg said public boards must announce the legal basis for an executive session as well as "the particular matter to be discussed in as much detail as possible without compromising the purpose for which the executive session is authorized."

In addition, Zansberg said the board failed to notify the 13 employees whose jobs were terminated that they were going to be discussed in executive session and provide them their legal right to request an open meeting.

On the day after the Feb. 25 special meeting, Zansberg said Falcon employees were told their jobs would be terminated at the end of the school year. He said it was proof that the school board "unlawfully adopted a position in the course of a closed-door meeting."

Miller could not immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

But in response to Zansberg's letter in March, Miller rejected all allegations. He said the board gave sufficient notice of the meetings and contended that its discussions of personnel matters were protected by law.

Larry Ryckman, managing editor of The Gazette, said the paper sued to protect the public's right to transparency in government.

"Open government is not only important, it's demanded under Colorado law," Ryckman said. "Today's action is not about The Gazette. It's about ensuring that citizens have a government - in this case, a D-49 school board - that is open and accountable."