205 - Open Meetings and Closed Meetings

I. PURPOSE
A. The school board embraces the philosophy of openness in the conduct of its business,
in the belief that openness produces better programs, more efficiency in administration of programs, and an organization more responsive to public interest and less susceptible to private interest. The school board shall conduct its business under a presumption of openness. At the same time, the school board recognizes and respects the privacy rights of individuals as provided by law. The school board also recognizes that there are certain exceptions to the Minnesota Open Meeting Law as recognized in statute where it has been determined that, in limited circumstances, the public interest is best served by closing a meeting of the school board.
B. The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to assure the rights of the public to be
present at school board meetings, while also protecting the individual’s rights to privacy
under law, and to close meetings when the public interest so requires as recognized by law.

II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
A. Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, all meetings of the school board,
including executive sessions, shall be open to the public.
B. Meetings shall be closed only when expressly authorized by law.

III. DEFINITION
“Meeting” means a gathering of at least a quorum or more members of the school board, or quorum of a committee or subcommittee of school board members, at which members discuss, decide, or receive information as a group on issues relating to the official business of the school board. The term does not include a chance or social gathering.

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Adopted: 9-12-2001; Revised: 7/14/03; 7/11/05; 8/14/06; 6/9/08; 5/11/09;
11-8-2010; 11-13-2012  
 Download file: opencloseminutes