Boardhawk: Board member John Youngquist was publicly pilloried by his board colleagues last week in part for insisting that an executive session they held last month was illegal.
But according to Colorado’s preeminent media law attorney, Youngquist is right and the law firm the board hired to offer an opinion on the matter erred in saying the meeting was legal.
The board “blatantly violated” the Colorado Open Meetings law on Dec. 12 by not specifically publishing in its official meeting notice that the executive session discussion focused on Youngquist’s request for reimbursement for penalties levied against him by the state pension fund, lawyer Steve Zansberg said Sunday. The notice language was far more general, depriving the public of information it was entitled to know, Zansberg said.
Zansberg is no stranger to the DPS board and its skirting of open meetings law. He successfully sued DPS for holding an illegal executive session in March 2023, the day after two deans were shot at East High School. Thanks to Zansberg and other attorneys, a Denver District Court judge ordered the release of a video recording of that illegal meeting.
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