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Attorney advises Tempe board on Arizona open meeting law, email and executive-session limits
Summary
An outside attorney briefed the Tempe Elementary School District board on open meeting law compliance, covering quorums, agenda specificity, use of email and text, calls to the public, executive sessions and recent Attorney General guidance on committees.
Attorney Carrie O’Brien, of Gust Rosenfeld, briefed the Tempe Elementary School District Governing Board on Arizona’s open meeting law and its practical application for school boards.
O’Brien explained that “a quorum is simply a majority of your board,” noting a five-member board requires three members present to act. She said abstentions still count toward a quorum but do not equal a no vote and recommended members vote yes or no unless a statutory conflict of interest applies.
On agendas, O’Brien said items should give the public notice of potential actions and must be published at least 24 hours ahead; last-minute additions that would change public notice are generally not allowed. She cautioned board members about using email and text as a substitute for deliberations, saying “the open meeting law prohibits board members from using email as kind of a conduit to hold a meeting,” and reminded members text messages and some social media posts can be public records depending on content.
O’Brien also reviewed calls to the public and presidential responses, saying a board president should avoid responding in the middle of public comment and that a typical follow-up is to ask staff to investigate and report back. She described the most common bases for executive session — including legal advice, with an attorney present, and confidential student or personnel matters — and recounted recent Attorney General guidance clarifying when administrative subcommittees convened by a superintendent are not treated as public committees subject to the open meeting law.
Board members asked clarifying questions about sharing posts with district logos and about committee procedures; O’Brien advised avoiding use of the district logo in personal posts to prevent the appearance of official action.
The presentation concluded with an invitation to ask follow-up questions as the district continues to refine processes for agendas, records and executive sessions.
