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 quorum present.
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.
Prior to convening in executive session, the Board 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.
The Board may hold an executive session for the sole purpose of considering any of the following matters:
- Purchase, acquisition, lease, transfer or sale of any real, personal or other property. However, no executive session shall be held to conceal the fact that a member of the Board has a personal interest in such property transaction. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(a).
- Conferences with an attorney for the purpose of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(b). The mere presence or participation of an attorney at an executive session shall not be sufficient to satisfy this requirement.
- Matters required to be kept confidential by federal or state law or regulations. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(c). An announcement will be made indicating the specific citation to state or federal law which is the reason the matter must remain confidential.
- Specialized details of security arrangements or investigations. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(d).
- Determination of positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, development of strategy for negotiations and instruction of negotiators except that discussion of negotiations relating to collective bargaining or employment contracts shall occur in a public meeting, unless an executive session is otherwise allowed. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(e).
- Personnel matters except if an employee who is the subject of an executive session requests an open meeting. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(f). If the personnel matter involves more than one employee, all of the employees must request an open meeting. Discussion of personnel policies that do not require discussion of matters specific to particular employees are not considered “personnel matters.”
The Teacher Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act shall prevail in teacher dismissal hearings. (It provides that a dismissal hearing shall be open unless either the administration or employee requests that the hearing be closed.)
Discussions concerning a member of the Board, any elected official or the appointment of a Board member are not considered “personnel matters.”
- Consideration of any documents protected under the mandatory nondisclosure provision of the Open Records Act, except that consideration of work product documents and documents subject to the governmental or deliberative process privilege must occur in a public meeting, unless an executive session is otherwise allowed. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(g).
- Discussion of individual students where public disclosure would adversely affect the person or persons involved. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(h).
- Negotiations concerning the terms of an employment contract with one or more superintendent finalists if the Board has named more than one candidate as a finalist and has held a forum open to the public to conduct interviews with each of the finalists. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(i)(I).
In addition to interviewing finalists in a public forum, the Board may interview finalists in executive session. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(i)(II).
The Board may also instruct personnel and representatives to begin contract negotiations with one or more superintendent candidates in executive session, including the necessary process to prioritize, for the purposes of negotiation, one or more finalists after public forums have been completed. C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4)(i)(III).
Prioritizing among the finalists and beginning negotiations with one or more of the finalists shall not constitute formal action or adoption by the board or governing body. Such formal action occurs only when the board or governing body comes into public session and casts votes on their preferred next chief executive officer. No formal adoption is deemed to have taken place until a public vote has occurred.
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 Board shall cause an electronic recording to be made of the executive session in accordance with applicable law. Such record shall be retained by the Board for 90 days following the session.
Adopted: Prior to November 2014
Revised: November 2014
Revised: September 2020
Revised: December 2022
LEGAL REFS.: C.R.S. 22-32-108 (5) (meetings of the Board)
C.R.S. 22-32-108 (5)(d) (executive session minutes)
C.R.S. 22-32-109.4 (4) (Board meeting “at which a collective bargaining agreement is discussed” must be open to the public)
C.R.S. 24-6-402 (open meetings law)
CROSS REFS.:
Board policy:
GP-8, Board Member’s Code of Conduct
Administrative policies:
BEDG, Minutes
KDB, Public’s Right to Know/Freedom of Information
Lake County School District R-1, Leadville, Colorado