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Resident tells Waukegan board minutes are delayed, cites Open Meetings Act posting requirement
Summary
A public commenter at the Sept. 25 Waukegan Board of Education meeting urged the board to stop delaying approved minutes and to post them online within the timeframe required by state law, saying several approved minutes from June and July remained unposted.
At the Sept. 25 Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education meeting, resident Ray Vukovich used his public comment time to criticize the district for delays in preparing and posting approved board minutes.
"State law also requires that after the board approves the minutes within 10 days, they're supposed to be posted on the district website," Vukovich said during the public-comment period. He said multiple sets of minutes approved by the board remained unposted and asked why the work was not done in a timely manner.
Vukovich urged the board to hold district administrators accountable for the delay, noting that the superintendent, who serves as the board secretary, oversees staff responsible for preparing minutes. "Would you allow that from a classroom teacher? Would you allow that from a building principal? I don't think so," he said, arguing the district has the resources to meet the posting requirement.
Action on minutes earlier in the meeting
Earlier in the meeting the board approved multiple sets of minutes by roll-call votes, including minutes for special and open sessions dated July 29, Aug. 12, Aug. 19, Aug. 26, Sept. 4 and Sept. 9, and it approved previously reviewed closed-session minutes dating to June and July. Those approvals were recorded during the business portion of the agenda.
Why it matters
Under Illinois statutes and the Illinois Open Meetings Act, public bodies are expected to make approved minutes available to the public in a timely manner. Vukovich told the board that two meetings from July and two from June had been approved but not yet posted on the district's website. The board did not take a separate vote in response to Vukovich's comments during public comment; the approved minutes were part of the meeting's consent and minutes approvals earlier in the agenda.
Ending
Vukovich asked the board to address the delay and enforce timely completion and posting of minutes. The board carried motions earlier in the meeting approving the listed minutes; public comment requested clarity and accountability on subsequent posting and timeliness.
