In the case of Esrati v. Dayton City Comm., 2019-Ohio-1021, an Ohio appellate court held that a private tour of school buildings by a facilities committee formed by a school board did not violate the Ohio Open Meetings Act because there was no evidence that “anything other than information gathering [occurred] during the private tour” or that deliberations took place. Esrati at ¶ 29.
In this case, a school board formed a task force made up of a majority of the school board members, community members, and local business owners to determine whether several local school buildings should be closed down. The task force scheduled a private tour of the school buildings and a local community member protested claiming that the tour constituted a meeting of a public body subject to the Open Meetings Act.
As there was no dispute that the task force consisted of a majority of the school board members, the appellate court held that the task force constituted “a Committee or Sub-Committee of the decision-making body, the Board of Education, and met the definition of a ‘public body’ under the Open Meetings law.” Esrati at ¶ 10. The appellate court then went on to determine “whether the Task Force engaged in deliberations during the bus tour that would make any rule, resolution, or formal act of the Board resulting from the bus tour invalid under” the Open Meetings Act. Esrati at ¶ 20.
The appellate court found that deliberation did not take place because the local community member “failed to provide evidence that the Task Force conducted anything other than information-gathering during the private tour, and therefore the Board’s subsequent actions were not invalidated under” the Open Meetings Act. Esrati at ¶ 29.
WARNING: The result of this case would have been much different had there been any evidence of deliberations.
To read this case, click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and the McGown & Markling Team.
Note: This blog entry does not constitute – nor does it contain – legal advice. Legal jurisprudence is like the always changing Midwestern weather. As a result, this single blog entry cannot substitute for consultation with a McGown & Markling attorney. If legal advice is needed with respect to a specific factual situation, please feel free to contact a McGown & Markling attorney.