Mandan Public School Board
AGO 2021-O-10
No. 2021-O-10
North Dakota Attorney General Opinion
September 23, 2021
OPEN
RECORDS AND MEETINGS OPINION
CITIZEN’S
REQUEST FOR OPINION
This
office received a request for an opinion under N.D.C.C.
§ 44-04-21.1 from Mathias Gieser asking whether the
Mandan Public School Board violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20
by failing to properly notice a special meeting.
FACTS
PRESENTED
The
Mandan Public School Board (School Board) held a special
meeting at 5:30 P.M. in the Brave Center[1] on June 8,
2021.2 The special meeting notice was e-mailed
with an agenda at 4:05 p.m. on June 7, 2021, to the School
Board members, the county auditor, the Mandan News, the
Bismarck Tribune, Dakota Media Access, and all persons who
had previously requested notification.[3] The notice was
posted on June 8, 2021, at approximately 10:00 A.M., on the
front door of the Brave Center and at the entrance of the
meeting room.4
ISSUE
Whether
the Mandan Public School Board posted noticed of its June 8,
2021, special meeting in compliance with N.D.C.C. §
44-04-20.
ANALYSIS
Unless
otherwise provided by law, public notice must be given in
advance of all meetings of a public entity in substantial
compliance with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20.[5]Meeting notices
must include the date, time, and location of the meeting,
and, if practicable, the topics to be
discussed.6 The notice must be posted at the principal
office7 of the governing body holding the meeting,
if one exists, at the location of the meeting on the day of
the meeting, given to anyone who asks to receive notice of
upcoming meetings, and, for school boards, filed in the
office of the county auditor,8or posted on the public
entity's website.9 For special meetings, notice must be
provided to the public entity's official newspaper and to
any representatives of the news media asking to be notified
of the special meeting.10
Here,
the School Board held a special meeting on June 8,
2021.11 The notice included the date, time, and
location of the...
