GCCC board discusses public business before scheduled start of meeting

June 27--The Garden City Community College Board of Trustees may have violated the state's open meetings law by discussing public business before the scheduled start of Friday's special meeting.

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m., yet trustees started discussing college affairs about seven minutes before that time, to include business related to the approval of a new insurance policy for GCCC student-athletes.

Merilyn Douglass, board chairwoman, did not formally call the meeting to order at any time after 7:23 a.m., when a reporter for The Telegram arrived. Douglass could not be reached for comment later Friday.

In A Citizen's Guide to KOMA and KORA (Kansas Open Records Act), Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt writes, "Discussion alone triggers the KOMA requirements, regardless whether an agreement is reached or a survey of how members are going to vote takes place. None of those actions are permitted."

Information from the state's attorney general says the term "open" in KOMA means "that the meeting must be conducted in a way that the public may observe or listen to the proceedings."

Since the board members engaged in interactive, two-way conversation, all were present and the business and affairs of the college were discussed, the board meeting met all three criteria of a "meeting" as defined in KOMA.

Mike Merriam, attorney for the Kansas Press Association, said based on his understanding of what happened, the board discussion prior to 7:30 was a KOMA violation.

"They can't start a meeting before the scheduled time," Merriam said. "The reason is, it's not open."

Merriam said openness implies more than just free audience attendance, but also that discussion is capable of being heard by the audience and that the audience knows when and where the meeting will be.

Members of the board had slightly different accounts of when the meeting came to order.

"At 7:30, I think. I don't know the exact time," said Trustee Terri Worf.

"I don't really know what time we started," Worf said. "Ryan (Ruda, athletics director) started talking about some things about the athletic department, so that probably came up."

Worf did say that prior to 7:30, the board was talking about "athletic examinations and student health."

"I suppose it indirectly pertains to it (the agenda item)," Worf said. "But it wasn't exactly pertaining to the agenda item."

When asked about the scheduled meeting start time and discussion he engaged in before 7:30, Trustee Melvin Neufeld said, "Well, I'm not sure, but I think it was 7:30, but everybody got there earlier so discussion started earlier, apparently. But nothing happened, I mean."

In a conflicting account, Trustee Ron Schwartz said there was no discussion before 7:30 a.m.

When asked what time Douglass called the meeting to order, Schwartz said, "I didn't look at the time, I don't know. Somewhere close to 7:30, I assume, but I don't know for sure."

Discussion before 7:30 a.m. touched on the insurance claims matter.

There currently are $96,000 in pending claims related to the student athletic insurance program. Over the last two years, the board has paid out 150 percent more than what the insurer has paid for medical bills, a situation referred to in board documents as the "loss ratio."

"You probably can do some training, physical fitness stuff, to strengthen them, help them develop and get over that as well as prevent the cost," Neufeld said. "I think better screening, too, up front, is probably always key so you know where you're starting from."

Ruda said growing enrollment is "kind of a double-edged sword" because greater enrollment means greater risk of students getting injured while involved in collegiate sports activities. With a newly-formed men's soccer team, the college's student-athlete population reached around 460.

Worf said identifying pre-existing conditions in student athletes is "really important."

At 7:30 a.m., GCCC President Dr. Herbert Swender responded to the prior discussion.

"Hopefully next year we will have less loss ratio," he said.

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