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The Daily Inter Lake is suing the District 5 board of trustees because it claims that two closed-door meetings and the failure to reveal the results of an investigation of Edgerton principal Ken Siderius violated Montana’s Open Meeting Act.
“We believe the public has a clear right to know the conclusions of an investigation done at public expense,” said Inter Lake editor Dan Black in a letter addressed to board chair Carol McGuire. “The superintendent used his authority and public money to hire someone to investigate Siderius’ very public remarks.”
McGuire took the board into executive session on April 21 to review legal adviser Jeff Minckler’s report, because the report was a personal matter. The board met in executive session again on April 27 to consider the buyout of Hafer’s contract.
“We’ve reviewed the law concerning public disclosure of personnel matters and concluded that the district has an obligation to protect the privacy of the employee involved and cannot disclose the report,” replied deputy county attorney Jonathan Smith, in a letter sent to Dan Black.
The lawsuit also asks that all actions taken during the closed door meetings be voided, and that the district pay court costs and attorney’s fees in the suit.
The Interlake hopes the suit will “find that those meetings held in violation of the statute and the Constitution and requiring that those meetings be held again in public.” |
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