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February 29, 2008

N. Kingstown school panel pays fine for meeting violation

NORTH KINGSTOWN -- The School Committee has agreed to pay a $1,500 fine for an Open Meeting Act violation, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office announced this evening.

Lynch's office had sued, asserting a "willful or knowing violation" by the North Kingstown School Committee when it held an Aug. 23, 2006 meeting, despite having posted public notice for the meeting less than the mandated 48 hours before the meeting was held.

Under the consent judgment, entered in Washington County Superior Court today, the School Committee agreed to pay the state a $1,500 fine and "has represented that it has taken corrective measures to ensure that it electronically files notice of a meeting with the Secretary of State’s Office at least 48 hours in advance," Lynch's news release said.

Also, all votes taken at the August 23, 2006 meeting were reaffirmed by the School Committee at a subsequent meeting.

“It stands to reason that the North Kingstown School Committee will be more mindful of complying with our open-government laws as a result of this litigation,” Lynch said in a statement. “Upon realizing that the meeting was not properly posted, the committee should have canceled and then rescheduled the meeting. Open government is at the very core of our democratic principles, and it is incumbent on public bodies to abide by the laws governing the Open Meetings Act and the Access to Public Records Act.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 5:54 PM | Permalink

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