Jordan School District hands over records

After reviewing tapes and notes of closed-door meetings, the Utah Attorney General's Office said today the Jordan School District broke the law in closing the meetings.

In a joint statement issued by the Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and the Jordan School Board, both sides agreed to release tape recordings and minutes of the closed-session meetings.

"The voluntary release of the meeting records is a demonstration of the board's ongoing commitment to conduct its business with integrity and in accordance with the law," the statement said.

The Utah Attorney General's Office concluded that the closed-door discussions went beyond the issue of security deployment protected by the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act. In the statement, the Jordan School District said its legal counsel still disagreed.

The legal tug-of-war between the two agencies was launched by a complaint filed with the Utah Attorney General's Office by the Deseret Morning News. In September 2006, the school board began discussing whether to continue financing school resource officers or look for other options, such as hiring private security.

In October and November, the board met behind closed doors. The Deseret Morning News protested the decision and ultimately complained to the Utah Attorney General's Office, which attempted to investigate. On two separate occasions, the board rejected the attorney general's attempts to get information.

The Utah Attorney General's Office threatened to sue the Jordan School District after it refused to give them information about the meeting in question. After Shurtleff personally appealed to the district's superintendent, the recordings and minutes were handed over.

The records have now been mailed to the Deseret Morning News and the case will be closed, Utah Attorney General's spokeswoman Catherine Higgins said Thursday.

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