Oakland school board closes meeting to public, citing protests
Open meetings expert says shutting out the public runs against spirit of state’s law.
But an expert warns that meeting in a room separated from the public may be legal, but does not appear to adhere to the spirit of the state’s Brown Act open public meeting law.
The Oakland school board Wednesday closed its meeting to the public amid fears that opponents of the district’s plan to close schools would attend and disrupt it as occurred on Oct. 23. Officials said the board may similarly close its meeting next Wednesday.
David Snyder, executive director of the nonprofit First Amendment Coalition, said the Brown Act allows school boards to hold public meetings via teleconference as long as the public has an opportunity to see and hear the board and to participate in the public comment section as they would in an ordinary meeting. But Snyder, who is a Brown Act expert, said he had never heard of any elected body using the teleconference rule to meet separately from the public.
“I don’t think this is what the Legislature had in mind,” he said, adding that the provision is usually used to allow some board members to participate in meetings remotely when they can’t attend in person. “The board would be ill-advised to continue to do this regularly, because it removes the public from the action in a way that’s probably technically permissible under the Brown Act, but at a minimum, it CONTINUE READING: Oakland school board closes meeting to public, citing protests | EdSource