The Board of Governors’ retreat two weeks ago was dubbed a purely social affair intended to teach new members about “general principles of good governance.” But in electing not to disclose the meeting to the public under the state’s open meetings law, those members are off to a rough start. In defending the decision, UNC-system President Thomas Ross said no official business was discussed. All anyone can do now is take his word for it.
Meanwhile, board members can learn from their mistake and place a premium on the transparency North Carolinians deserve.
According to the state’s open meetings law, any state committee must open meetings to the public when relative business is being discussed. Governance of the system’s 17 schools is the board’s business, and if it was on the schedule for the two-day retreat earlier this month, the event could not have been entirely social.
And if the board was only having dinner and drinks, what reason could there be to hide it from the public?
Former student board member Andrew Payne was not off the mark when he emailed Ross, accusing the board of unethical conduct. Both he and attorney Amanda Martin have correctly interpreted the secret retreat as a violation of the law.
The law requires an account of any closed meeting. During the retreat, no minutes were kept and no roll was taken. The board could have closed the retreat so long as it was announced in advance, but the board made no such announcement.
In an email, Ross said he regretted that Payne chose to “accuse the Board of Governors of misleading the public and being liars without having all the facts.”
Ross can’t blame Payne, or anyone else, for lack of information. He should regret closing the meeting, not Payne’s fair accusations.
And he shouldn’t have to vaguely justify a closed meeting to the public, because there shouldn’t have been a closed meeting in the first place.
The spontaneity of these meetings and the efforts to keep them a secret are alarming, especially considering the tumult of the past year. With the NCAA’s investigation of UNC and budget cuts breathing down the system’s neck, now is a time for openness.
Secrecy does not build trust between the system’s leaders and its constituents. Without complete and utter transparency, a state institution like the Board of Governors loses legitimacy.
