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Broward School Board debates following general counsel's advice on meeting timing and Sunshine Law
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Summary
Board members at a Broward County School Board workshop disputed whether to follow general counsel's recommendation to pause a meeting over notice and Sunshine Law concerns, weighing legal risk against precedent and public participation; the chair said she recessed the workshop on counsel's advice.
At a Broward County School Board workshop, members clashed over whether to follow their general counsel's recommendation to pause or recess a meeting because of notice and Sunshine Law concerns. Chair Ms. Leonardi said she recessed the workshop on counsel's advice after staff identified potential notice issues.
General counsel Ms. Bruno told the board that "the statute requires us to properly notice" meetings and that counsel's role is to "protect the board," arguing that timing matters for Sunshine Law compliance. "My job is to protect the board and that's the reason that we wanna stick to times," she said.
Miss Thompson said she disagreed with stopping a meeting mid-discussion when it was not a time-certain item and said audience members were left waiting to participate. "I feel like we need our general counsel on the dais, but I'd like to have a conversation ... because I feel like we to end something when we're mid meeting, unless it is time certain," she said, noting the practice in the district had been more flexible under prior counsel.
Dr. Holness asked whether counsel's recommendations are mandatory and what process exists if the board decides not to follow legal advice. Ms. Bruno replied that the board can choose a different course but would do so "at [its] own consequence," adding that the easiest procedure is for the chair to ask whether the board will follow counsel's recommendation or continue discussion.
Several members urged caution. Mr. Rivera said the board should take legal advice into account and said he would not participate in ignoring counsel's legal guidance. Mrs. Alhadeff suggested adopting timed debate for agenda items as a practical way to manage meeting length while preserving public input.
The chair explained why she recessed the workshop: a special-school meeting had been noticed to start at a specific time and, following counsel's advice, the board paused to avoid possible notice violations. She said she would bring any future requests to ignore counsel's advice to the full board.
The exchange underscored a tension between legal risk-management and the board's desire for flexible deliberation and public participation; board members discussed procedural options including item-level time limits and clearer meeting setups to avoid future conflicts. No formal vote or change of policy was taken at the workshop; the board moved on to other agenda items and adjourned.
