Tennessee Attorney General Herbert SlaterySchool boards in Tennessee can't skirt transparency rules by hiring an outside agency to help select a superintendent, according to a recent Tennessee attorney general opinion.
Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III released an opinion Wednesday stating that organizations acting on behalf of a governmental body are bound by the state's open records and open meetings laws.
State Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, said he asked for the opinion after constituents raised concerns that Cleveland City Schools' superintendent search by the Tennessee School Boards Association would take place in private. Tennessee's Open Meetings Act requires all meetings of a governing body - with few exceptions - be open to the public.
Mike BellBell asked Slatery how the state's public records and open meetings laws apply to third-party organizations like TSBA that are working on behalf of a school board. Bell said he understands his constituents' concerns, as TSBA received more than 20 applicants for the superintendent post and provided the school board with five names to interview.
"There had to be some deliberation," Bell said. "And part of it was not open to the public."
Choosing a superintendent is a decision that affects an entire community, Bell said, and he believes there should be public notice and access to the process. He said the recent opinion seems to agree with constituents who claim the process Cleveland City Schools is using is not transparent enough.
Cleveland's school board is interviewing superintendent candidates after firing former Superintendent Martin Ringstaff in February when it surfaced that he sent sexually inappropriate messages to a woman who was not his wife.
Cleveland school board chairman Dawn Robinson and vice-chairman Murl Dirksen did not return requests for comment Friday.
Charles Cagle, the school board's attorney, said he hadn't read the opinion, but doesn't disagree with his understanding of what it says.
Cagle wouldn't say how he advised the school board regarding the TSBA's participation, but said he always advises boards to make all documents public in accordance with the open records act.
Randall Bennett, deputy executive director and general counsel for TSBA, said the opinion restates his understanding of the law, and he does not believe it applies to TSBA's work helping school boards select superintendents.
"We make recommendations to the board," Bennett said. "We don't have any decision-making authority."
Slatery's opinion, though, quoted a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling that any group with authority to make recommendations to a governmental body is covered under the open meetings act.
Bennett said the TSBA will not change the way it conducts searches, and the group will keep meeting in private to discuss which candidates it recommends the school board consider.
Bell said the debate could end up in court if anyone chooses to challenge TSBA's actions.
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, said Slatery's opinion could bring into question the process of some previous superintendent appointments.
He added he hopes the Hamilton County Board of Education, which is expected to start searching for a superintendent soon, is paying attention.
"I want to make sure that the choice of the new superintendent is done above the board and not in a back-room deal," Gardenhire said.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow on twitter @kendi_and.