Notes spark debate: School Board records at issue

10/11/06 * Daily Progress [full story]

The Albemarle County School Board’s recent change to a summary format for meeting minutes has prompted a debate involving the public’s right to know and efficiency.

The new practice was not voted on by the board but was discovered at the Sept. 28 meeting by board member Brian Wheeler, who asked that the minutes from all the meetings that were written in the summary style be pulled so the board could discuss the change.

“It’s a big change in my book,” Wheeler said 10 days after the meeting. “I don’t think we’re doing justice to our public’s right to know in our deliberations.”