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2 board members warned on chats

Their get-togethers may violate the state's Sunshine Law, lawyers tell a pair of Pinellas School Board members.

By THOMAS C. TOBIN
Published February 5, 2005

LARGO - Attorneys for the Pinellas school system have twice warned two School Board members their get-togethers concerning board business could open them to charges of violating Florida's open-meetings law.

The second warning came Friday when attorneys told board members Mary Russell and Janet Clark their tour of a future school construction site Thursday "may be construed by some" as a violation of the Sunshine Law. They also noted that such violations could result in criminal penalties and removal from office.

Russell and Clark said they believe their get-togethers were proper and that the attorneys are overreacting. Russell said she is being singled out because she has challenged the board's procedures since her election in 2002. She said other board members frequently appear together in similar fashion.

Other board members said Friday the rules for appearing jointly and notifying the public are clear and well-defined.

No other board members were present for the Thursday tour. Russell notified School Board attorney John Bowen of the tour 31/2 hours before it was to occur, sending an e-mail. However, she did not notify the School Board office.

Florida's open-records manual states that the Sunshine Law applies to "any gathering whether formal or casual of two or more members of the same board" to discuss actions the board might take in the future.

The press and the public had no opportunity to attend Thursday's tour. Therefore, Russell, Clark and the two neighborhood representatives they met with are the only people in a position to judge whether official business was discussed.

Clark and Russell said Friday they inspected a district-owned property in Clearwater's High Point area. They listened to neighborhood people concerned that a planned new building for High Point Elementary would take away a park. The issue is expected to come before the board soon.

They said they received a list of talking points and did not engage in dialogue with each other. Russell said she made the comment: "I'm not sure we'd be having this discussion if those were $300,000 houses" nearby.

Clark said she set up the tour and that Russell asked to come along. It kept the neighborhood representatives from having to show up twice, she said.

Both board members said seeing the property made them better informed on the issue. The tour lasted 30 minutes.

"They're playing with fire; they're asking for an infraction," said Alison Steele, a St. Petersburg lawyer who represents the Times regarding the Sunshine Law.

Board members can go on inspections and fact-finding trips, and they can get together casually. But without proper public notice they can't have even the slightest discussion about official board business, Steele said.

She said the best policy is to avoid such gatherings altogether.

"If I thought I had done something wrong I'd be worried," said Russell, who said she wholeheartedly supports the Sunshine Law. "I just can't be afraid of it, though ... I'm just trying to do my job."

Another recent get-together also drew a warning from Bowen.

Russell and Clark convened informally on Jan. 26 in the board's small office in Largo to discuss the district's budget. That meeting was placed on the board's calendar. A board assistant taped it and a Times reporter attended.

But in a public statement at the board's meeting the night before, Bowen strongly recommended against the meeting, saying it created suspicion.

He said the state Attorney General's Office agreed with him. He said the office told him the city of Jacksonville created a similar "way of work" 20 years ago and it sparked an investigation by the local prosecutor.

Said Bowen: "This has never been done in the 15 years that I've been here as far as this process of two board members wanting to get together to discuss among themselves certain issues."

Clark, elected to the board in November, thanked Bowen for his advice and said her sit-down with Russell would help her "come to a better understanding" of the budget.

Russell chided Bowen for "impugning my character." She said: "I cannot allow petty things to get in my way of whether or not I'm doing my job as a board member."

[Last modified February 6, 2005, 11:03:06]