A Polk County judge ruled that portions of minutes from a closed Des Moines school board meeting should be handed over to the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and its client, Graham Gillette.
Fifth Judicial District Judge Nancy Romano has reviewed recordings and redacted minutes from a May 10 closed school board meeting where members discussed the sudden departure of former superintendent Nancy Sebring. Sebring resigned in the wake of the disclosure of sexually explicit emails she sent using district email.
The ACLU of Iowa filed the suit on behalf of client Graham Gillette, a Des Moines parent and former Des Moines school board member. The ACLU contends that the Des Moines school board improperly closed at least a portion of the meeting and refused to share minutes with the public, violating Iowa's Open Records and Open Meetings law in the process.
Judge Romano wrote that while some of the discussion legally was closed, “there are several points in the meeting when other matters not directly related to the stated reason for the closed session were briefly discussed.
