Idaho Ed Board says no meeting laws violated
Panel decides no open meeting laws were violated when it approved UI purchase of university
The Idaho State Board of Education on Friday determined no open meeting violation occurred when it held a May 15 executive session to discuss the University of Idaho’s acquisition of the University of Phoenix.
The board met in response to a lawsuit filed by Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and Solicitor General Theo Wold alleging the board violated the Open Meetings Law before it approved the University of Phoenix acquisition. The board made its decision after a 30-minute executive session.
“The Office of the State Board of Education is now in the process of seeking to retain independent counsel for purposes of advising the Board as to the merits of the legal claims and defenses to the lawsuit filed by the Office of the Attorney General, and representing the Board in court,” the board stated in a news release following Friday’s meeting.
According to a previous Lewiston Tribune report, the lawsuit from Labrador and Wold argued that at least one of the board’s executive sessions leading to the University of Phoenix purchase should have been held publicly. If the meetings were held in violation of code, subsequent actions by the board regarding the transaction are “null and void,” the lawsuit says.
The exemption in code cited as legal justification to hold these meetings behind closed doors was to “consider preliminary negotiations involving matters of trade or commerce in which the governing body is in competition with governing bodies in other states or nations.”
“The attorneys engaged in this transaction determined that the exemption applied,” board president Linda Clark said during Friday’s meeting.
According to a previous Idaho Education News report, the board sent a letter to Labrador’s office June 30 defending its actions.
“In advance of the May 15 meeting, the board consulted with and relied upon the legal advice of the office of Attorney General Labrador to ensure the meeting was noticed and conducted legally,” State board executive director Matt Freeman wrote in the letter. “Additionally, the deputy attorney general assigned to the board was present for the entirety of the May 15 meeting and no concerns with its legality were ever raised.”
The UI is creating a not-for-profit entity to acquire the University of Phoenix for a total cost of $685 million.
