As journalists, Press reporters depend on the state’s Open Meeting Law to do their work, and a shared vigilance is essential to ensuring the law is followed. It’s concerning that a key committee, one that included senior elected officials and top administrators, failed to halt the violation identified by a town resident last month. How is that possible?
As we reported last week, the violations stem from the School Building Committee’s practice of treating its subcommittees as working groups operating beyond the bounds of the state’s Open Meeting Law. We commend the School Building Committee for admitting its error. Acting quickly to provide agendas and minutes for all subcommittee meetings is a responsible remedy for complaints that the attorney general has said are legitimate. As one member of the committee told the Press this week, having the deliberations of its subcommittees made public will help townspeople understand how the School Building Committee reached its finding that a new $53 million elementary school is the best way to deal with a deteriorating 30-year-old building.
Still, we are astounded by the error and chagrined we weren’t the first to spot it. We urge the selectmen and town administration to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that town volunteers and subcommittees—and they themselves—fully understand the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, including any revisions likely to catch longtime volunteers unaware.
At the same time, the Press resolves to be more vigilant in holding town boards and subcommittees to account.
Ignorance of the law is never an excuse, and the consequences of not following it are plainly visible this week as the building committee scrambles to complete its work while devoting time and energy to correcting an entirely avoidable mistake.
