Sparta board lets the ‘sunshine' in - Procedures changed to comply with OPMA rules

Sparta — The board of education recently amended the wording they use to move from a public session to a closed (executive) session to comply with the Open Public Meetings Act, also known as the New Jersey Sunshine Laws. The matter was brought to light last week when Board President Kevin Pollison received a letter from John Paff, Chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project. The wording, used by the previous board, was deficient and did not fully comply with requirements set forth by OPMA, according to Paff. Pollison responded to Paff saying the matter had already been studied for some time and the wording had been officially changed at the June 23 meeting. The new wording is included in the addendum to the June 23 meeting agenda which is posted on the district Web site at www.Sparta.org. Paff’s complaint had to do with the resolution used at the June 5 meeting, because the June 23 minutes won’t be posted until they are approved in late July. Paff said a better practice would be to post meeting minutes online as soon as possible, and label them “draft” until the board votes to approve or amend them. In his letter to Pollison, Paff said the former wording wasn’t specific enough. Pollison said that since becoming board president in April he has worked with Business Administrator Dr. Warren Ceurvels to see that the board is operating in compliance with OPMA and OPRA laws. He said, “I am happy to report that as a result of my research and in consultation with Dr. Ceurvels, the Sparta BOE is now in full compliance with these laws, where previously it was not.” The New Jersey Sunshine Laws (N.J.S.A. 10: 4-6) were enacted in 1975 to make what government does more transparent. These laws allow for only 11 reasons public bodies can legally go into executive session, including personnel matters, litigation, collective bargaining, or the lease or acquisition of property. Paff said he was satisfied that Sparta’s board is now in compliance with OPMA and said he was pleased that Pollison responded to his concerns so quickly. He said, “It looks like they had already addressed the matter prior to receiving my letter. As long as it gets done, that’s the important thing.” Another request made by Paff is that the Sparta board post its records request form (for OPRA requests) on their Web site. Pollison said the form was uploaded by Ceurvels last week and is now available online.