File:
BEC
Executive
Sessions
All meetings of the Board shall be open
to the public except that at any regular or special meeting the Board may
proceed into executive session upon affirmative vote of two-thirds of the
entire Board membership.
The Board shall not make final policy
decisions nor shall any resolution, policy or regulation be adopted or
approved nor shall any formal action of any kind be taken during any executive
session. The Board is authorized to
approve written minutes of an executive session in executive session, if
written minutes are taken.
The Board may hold an executive session
for the sole purpose of considering any of the following
matters:
1. The purchase of property for public
purposes or the sale of property at competitive bidding if disclosure of the
information would give an unfair advantage to a person whose personal, private
interest is adverse to the public interest.
2. Upon request of
the donor, to consider the acquisition of property through a gift.
3. Conferences with any attorney representing
the Board regarding disputes involving the school that are
subject to pending or imminent court action, concerning specific claims or
grievances, or to receive advice on specific legal questions. The mere presence of the attorney in an
executive session does not, without more, satisfy this requirement.
4. Matters required to be kept confidential
by federal law or rules, or state statutes (such as student information falling
within the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).
5. Specialized details of security
arrangements or investigations, including where disclosure might reveal
information that could be used to commit or avoid prosecution for violation of
law.
6.
Determining
positions in matters that may be subject to negotiations with employees or
employee organizations, to develop strategy for and receive reports on progress
of such negotiations, and instructing negotiators.
7.
Discussion
of personnel matters, at the request of the affected employee.
Discussion of personnel
policies that do not require discussion of matters specific to particular
employees are not considered “personnel matters.”
Discussions concerning a
member of the Board, any elected official or the appointment of a Board member
are not considered personnel matters.
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8.
Review
of administrative actions regarding investigation of charges or complaints and
attendant investigative reports against students where public disclosure could
adversely affect the person or persons involved.
9.
To
review, approve and/or amend the minutes of a previous executive session.
Prior to convening in executive session,
the Board chairperson shall announce the topic of the executive session which
shall be reflected in the minutes. The
Board shall include the specific citation to statute authorizing it to meet in
executive session when it announces the session and identify the particular
matter to be discussed in as much detail as possible without compromising the
purpose for which the executive session is authorized.
Only those persons invited by the Board
may be present during any executive session regardless of the topic of the
session (including personnel matters).
The executive session must be recorded in
the same fashion as the open meeting. The
minutes need not contain a verbatim transcript of the discussion as long as
they accurately reflect the nature of the discussion. The record of the executive session must be
retained for at least 90 days after the session.
Discussions protected by the
attorney-client privilege need not be recorded.
However, the attorney for the Board must be present and must certify, in
writing and as part of the minutes, that the portion of the executive session
for which no record was kept was attorney-client privileged
communications. In addition, the record
must reflect that no further record was kept based on the opinion of the
attorney, as stated in the record of the executive session, that the discussion
was an attorney-client privileged communication. If any part of the executive session is not
recorded pursuant to this section, the Board chairperson must also certify that
the discussion not recorded was confined to topics appropriate for executive
session.
Following every executive session, the
Board chairperson must certify, in writing, that the executive session was
appropriate. If the executive session
involved some matters that were recorded and others that were not, the Board
chairperson would have to provide two certifications: first that the session was appropriate, and
second, that any discussion not recorded was confined to an appropriate
topic. The minutes of executive session
may be reviewed, approved, or amended in a subsequent executive session, which
must be convened in accordance with the other requirements. The minutes and the recording of executive
session are not open to public inspection or subject to discovery in any
administrative or judicial proceeding unless the Board consents.
Adopted by Board of Trustees:
LEGAL REF.: C.R.S. 24-6-402
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