Schools
Supreme Court Rules Rutgers Board of Governors Violated Sunshine Law in 2008, No Sanctions Given
The board was ruled to have not given adequate notice of the topics to be discussed during a meeting in 2008, but will not face any sanctions due to the board's history of meetings that have been compliant with the Open Public Meeting Act.
A Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday found the Rutgers Board of Governors in violation of state sunshine laws for an incident stemming back to 2008 in which the board was found to have not given adequate notice of the topics to be discussed in a closed-session meeting.
According to the brief filed with the state, the special meeting of the Board of Governors took place on Sept. 10, 2008. A notice was filed with local newspapers advertising that the board was to go into immediate closed session to discuss matters of "Attorney client privilege and contract negotiations."
The brief claims that the board had more information on the closed session, including discussion over the construction and naming of what is now the High Point Solutions Stadium. Shortly after the meeting began, a resolution was introduced and passed explaining that the stadium construction and naming rights were to be discussed in closed session.
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The ruling by the court found that the board did not provide enough information in the sunshine notice as to the topics to be discussed in closed session, but will not face any punishment, as no action was taken in closed session, and the board had a record of being Open Public Meeting Act compliant with its past meetings.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) praised the decision on Wednesday, but said that they believe that there were still "deficiencies" in the law if offending parties do not face punishment.
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"This decision sets an important precedent that government bodies cannot be so vague in their meeting notices so as to effectively hide from the public issues that they expect to discuss at a public meeting," ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas said in a prepared statement.
A statement from Rutgers University on Wednesday said that the college was "Pleased that the Supreme Court of New Jersey recognizes that public bodies can structure their meetings in the most effective and efficient manner.”
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