Legal advisor reviews public meetings rules, executive sessions and records at North Marion board retreat

Elliot Field, a legal advisor brought in for the North Marion School District 15 retreat, told trustees that clear board policies and careful notice are the best defenses against public-meetings complaints and legal risk. Field said the first priorities are that meetings be noticed and open to the public and that boards follow their own policies and applicable state law.

“Consult your board policies,” Field said in the opening of a roughly hour-long briefing, adding that “you need a quorum to do business.” He explained that special meetings generally require at least 24 hours notice, emergency meetings are reserved for true calamities and that regular meetings should be noticed in a way “reasonably calculated” to inform the public of time and place. Field also warned that failure to provide required notice can…