AGO 81-039.

• Case Date: April 13, 1981
• Court: North Dakota

North Dakota Attorney General Opinions 1981. AGO 81-039. OPINION 81-39Date Issued: April 13, 1981 (AGO 81-39) Requested by: Lloyd H. Nygaard Assistant Commissioner and Executive Secretary State Board of Higher Education- QUESTION PRESENTED - Whether section 15-10-17(1) of the North Dakota Century Code, allowing for executive sessions of the Board of Higher Education for appointment and removal of certain personnel, applies to appointment and removal of the Commissioner and other staff members of the Board of Higher Education.- ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION - It is my opinion that section 15-10-17(1), N.D.C.C., does not apply to the Commissioner of Higher Education and noninstitutional staff members of the Board of Higher Education. - ANALYSIS - Section 15-10-17(1), N.D.C.C., provides as follows:

15-10-17. SPECIFIC POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION. The state board of higher education shall have all the powers and perform all the duties necessary to the control and management of the institutions described in this chapter, including the following:

1. To appoint and remove the president or other faculty head, and the professors, instructors, teachers, officers, and other employees of the several institutions under its control, and to fix their salaries within the limits of legislative appropriations therefore, and to fix the terms of office and to prescribe the duties thereof, provided that the consideration of the appointment or removal of any such personnel shall be in executive session if the board chooses unless the person or persons involved request that the meeting shall be open to other persons or the public. (Emphasis supplied).

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The "any such personnel" language relates to the personnel stated in the first part of the subsection, i.e., the president, professors, instructors, teachers, officers or other employees of the several institutions. The Commissioner of Higher Education is appointed in section 15-10-10, N.D.C.C., as well as pursuant to North Dakota Constitution, Article VIII, Section 6. section 15-10-10, N.D.C.C., provides as follows:

15-10-10. STATE COMMISSIONER OF HIGHER

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