Board attorney explains privilege after dispute over edited meeting video; members debate written opinions

The Little Miami Board of Education heard from its attorney about when legal advice is produced in writing after trustees disputed edits made to a previously posted meeting video.

William (Bill) Deters, the district’s legal counsel, told the board that ‘‘the client is actually the board of education, and the communications that legal counsel gives to the board are attorney‑client privilege documents.’’ He said that when a single member requests a written opinion it risks breaching privilege unless the president requests it or the full board votes to do so.

‘‘If it will kind of rely upon what the district’s policy is,’’ Deters said, ‘‘if the district policy is that the board president’s permitted to make that request, or if it’s an individual member, then the board would vote to do it, or the president…could ask the attorney to provide something in writing.’’

The discussion followed trustee concerns that a recording of an earlier meeting had been edited or bleeped to remove an outburst. Some trustees said removing the outburst from the publicly posted video amounted to an impermissible edit; others said the intent was to prevent viewers from hearing vulgar language.

Trustee William (Bill) Wallace said he wanted the attorney’s advice in writing so ‘‘it can help deconflict things’’ and avoid ‘‘he said, she said’’ disputes about what the counsel told individual trustees. Deters responded that producing written opinions on demand for individual trustees is not his standard practice because of privilege and procedure concerns.

Board members asked whether the board could adopt a policy that would allow any individual trustee to request written opinions. Trustees also discussed whether many phone calls and private communications among members over the last two years have created the appearance of behind‑the‑scenes decision‑making.

No formal change to the attorney’s practice was adopted at the meeting. The board did not vote to require the attorney to provide written opinions to individual trustees; Deters said he would provide a written opinion if the board president or a majority of the board made the request.

The exchange was conducted in open session with Deters present; he advised the board on the limits of written advice and the interplay with attorney‑client privilege.

Ending: Trustees indicated they may return later with a written board policy clarifying when legal advice will be produced in writing and who may request it, but no policy was adopted at this meeting.