Request By:
Mr. Stephen W. Towler
Superintendent
Jenkins Independent Schools
Jenkins, Kentucky 41537
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Robert L. Chenoweth, Assistant Attorney General
You have asked the Office of the Attorney General to consider what must be done to change the date of a regularly scheduled monthly school board meeting. You explained that circumstances develop which necessitate the changing of the regular meeting date. You stated in the past when such a situation has occurred the paper has been notified and each board member contacted verbally and by mail of the changing of the regular meeting date.
Two statutes must be reviewed in considering this question. KRS 160.270(1) in pertinent part requires:
"Each board of education shall hold at least one (1) regular meeting each month, at a time and place fixed by the board."
KRS 61.820 provides as follows:
"All meetings of all public agencies of this state, and any committees or subcommittees thereof shall be held at specified times and places which are convenient to the public and shall provide for a schedule of regular meetings by ordinance, resolution, bylaws or by whatever other means may be required for the conduct of business of that public agency, and said schedule of regular meetings shall be made available to the public."
Thus, it is clear that the local board is to provide for a schedule of regular meetings specifying the date, time and place. It should be apparent, however, that neither of these two statutes are instructive in answering the question you have presented.
In view of the above, our answer must be what we believe to be a practical handling of this type of situation. If the need to change the regular meeting date, time or place occurs at a time sufficient enough before a future regular meeting, it is suggested that at a prior board meeting, the board by appropriate motion, vote to change the date, time or place, as the case may be, and then public notice of the change should be given.
If, as will probably frequently be the case, the need to alter the regular schedule for meetings arises between regular board meetings, a couple of options exist, depending in large part upon the time left until the regular meeting would be held. In the situation where a week or ten days or so remain until the regular meeting date, a special meeting could be called as specified by statute to be held prior to the regular meeting date. An item on the agenda for the special meeting would be a setting of a different regular meeting date for that month, or if all of the board members concurred, have the special meeting stand in lieu of the regular meeting for that month. Again, timely public notice would have to be given of this decision.
If the regular meeting date is only a day or so away and the date or otherwise needs to be changed due to unforeseen circumstances, we believe the chairman could exercise the prerogative of contacting the other board members to attempt to get concurrence in changing the meeting date and if such concurrence is obtained, public notice of this fact should be given. Ratification of this action should be an item of business at the subsequently held regular meeting.
You have asked one additional question which is: "What must be done under the open meetings law to legally call a special board meeting. " Enclosed is a copy of an opinion of this office, OAG 78-274, pages 6-7, which is dispositive of this question.