Letter to the Editor:
Eight months ago, speakers began coming to speak to the Board of Education about the backlog of official meeting minutes spanning several years. They spoke respectfully, cited Board Policy, and have waited for the Board to properly address this issue.
On the February 5th agenda there were minutes for approval from only 2 meetings held in November. That is progress, but it is still outside of what is legally required.
Let’s be very clear about what was missing.
There are 2 Board Meetings in December with no minutes before this Board. There are 2 meetings in January with no minutes before this Board. The kindergarten teacher in me tells me that totals 4 sets of official actions, discussions, and votes still absent from the public record.
Board Policy is explicit on this issue: it clearly states that minutes from the prior meeting are to be agendized for approval at the next regular meeting”. That requirement exists for one reason… public accountability. Minutes are not optional. They are not a courtesy. They are the legal record of this Board’s actions.
Board Policy 9324 requires that minutes of the prior meeting be prepared and presented for Board approval at the next regular meeting. That requirement exists to ensure continuity, transparency and public access to Board actions.
In addition, Education Code section 35145 requires school district governing boards to conduct business in meetings that are properly noticed and recorded. The actions taken at those meetings must be memorialized so the public can understand what decisions were made and how Board Members voted.
Further, the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code section 54957.5 is clear when is states writings related to agenda items… including draft and final minutes are public records and must be made available to the public in a timely manner. The Brown Act is rooted in a simple principle… the public’s business must be conducted in public, and the record of that business must be accessible.
In her role as Clerk of the Board, Ms. Cano, is legally responsible for ensuring minutes are prepared, maintained, and brought forward for approval at the following meeting. Failure to produce timely minutes is a statutory compliance issue. The Board itself retains oversight responsibility, but the clerical duty belongs to the Clerk.
As I did on July 24th of last year, I respectfully requested at the February 5th meeting, that the Board adhere to the requirements in Board Policy 9234. I asked them to agendize the minutes from the 2 meetings in November and the 2 meetings in December, have them prepared and present them for approval and of course have the minutes from the February 5th meeting agendized for approval also at their next meeting.
Linda Walmsley
Burbank
