School District Board Transparency

WHEREAS Section 69 of the School Act allows the exclusion of members of the public from school board meetings for any reason the board deems appropriate which limits the publics access to school board decisions and records that might otherwise be available under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and which might be required to be considered publicly by a local government under Section 90 of the Community Charter; AND WHEREAS the inconsistent rules applying to school boards and local governments cause confusion about what should be dealt with publicly when school boards and municipal councils hold joint meetings on issues andor exchange decisions of their respective governing bodies: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Ministry of Education be urged to amend the closed meeting provisions of the School Act to align with the more open and transparent closed meeting provisions of the Community Charter governing local governments.