Some local school boards are inappropriately closing meetings — closing them often and, at times, not complying with the intent of the Utah Open Meetings Act — according to the Office of the Legislative Auditor General.

"School boards' actions do not comply with the law and raise concern that the school boards may be circumventing the legislative intent of the Open Meetings Act that the 'people's business' be done openly and in the public," states the audit, presented to the Legislative Management Committee's audit subcommittee Thursday.

The audit recommends the Legislature clarify the need for closed meeting minutes to contain detailed, substantive information on everything talked about. It suggests putting teeth into the law. And it recommends the Utah attorney general issue a directive to all public bodies stating the requirements of the law.

House Speaker Greg Curtis suggested public bodies simply record closed meetings just as they do open ones.

The Utah Open Meetings Act allows public bodies to close meetings for few reasons, including discussing the character, competence or health of an individual; and strategy sessions on collective bargaining, lawsuits and property sales, leases or exchanges.

Still, they must keep tape recordings or detailed written minutes that disclose the content of the closed meeting — or, in cases of personnel, sign a sworn statement attesting that's all that was discussed.

That's not always happening, the audit found.

"In many cases, if a closed meeting discussion of a school board was ever called into question, a judge would be unable to determine the legality of the discussion by reviewing the records that most school boards are currently maintaining," the audit states.

The audit includes 10 school boards — Salt Lake, Jordan, Nebo, Tooele, Granite, Provo, North Sanpete, Carbon, Iron and Washington. It reviewed records and interviewed superintendents, business administrators and school board secretaries.

Among the audit's findings:

• All but Tooele and Carbon districts failed to keep sufficiently detailed minutes or tape recordings of closed sessions, as the law requires, and four kept no records.

• School boards are having discussions in closed meetings that should be taking place in public. In one case, a board talked about possibly expanding a program in a closed meeting.

  "Most of the inappropriate discussions were informational in nature, but nonetheless should have been discussed in an open meeting," the audit states.

• School boards meet in closed sessions more often than other public bodies, with most having one every meeting, the audit states. But sometimes, they go in and out of closed meetings inappropriately, including simply opening doors and calling the closed meeting now open, also contrary to the law.
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