Spring Break
Judge orders recording review of CSU System Board of Governors closed-door session
Evaluation to determine if Colorado open-meetings law broken
Erin Smith
Issue date: 5/11/09 Section: News
A judge decided Thursday to review the full recording of the CSU Board of Governor's closed-door executive session on May 5 to determine if it violated Colorado open-meetings law.
The decision to review the full recordings comes after the BOG posted an hour-long recording of portions of the approximately four-hour May 5 session, in which references were made to now-chancellor finalist Joe Blake.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit made by the Coloradoan, the Pueblo Chieftain and the Colorado Independent accusing CSU of violating a Colorado open-meetings law.
The lawsuit was originally filed May 6, after the BOG held private discussions about one of its members, Blake, seeking the full release of the recorded session.
An editor from one of the papers said that the pursuit of the lawsuit was an effort to encourage transparency from the BOG.
"This is not a one-time occurrence with the CSU admin, there is a culture of secrecy that has flourished there," said Bob Moore, executive editor of the Coloradoan, citing the departure last semester of former university President Larry Penley and CSU Police Chief Dexter Yarbrough.
"We have had our attorneys remind them of their obligation under state statue and it's falling on deaf ears."
The BOG has seven days to release the full recording of the closed-door session to Larimer County Justice Stephen Schapanski who will decide if the meeting was a violation of the Colorado Open Records Act.
"The newspapers' only interest is to ensure that the Board does not repeat these violations in the future," said Denver-based attorney Christopher Beall, who specializes in First Amendment Law, in an e-mail to the Collegian on Wednesday. "The mere fact that there has been a violation of the statute does not automatically mean that Mr. Blake's selection is void."
The tape was released in order to "remove a cloud over a good candidate," and was not an admission of violating Colorado law, said Fred Kuhlwiln, a senior assistant attorney general representing the BOG.
The decision to review the full recordings comes after the BOG posted an hour-long recording of portions of the approximately four-hour May 5 session, in which references were made to now-chancellor finalist Joe Blake.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit made by the Coloradoan, the Pueblo Chieftain and the Colorado Independent accusing CSU of violating a Colorado open-meetings law.
The lawsuit was originally filed May 6, after the BOG held private discussions about one of its members, Blake, seeking the full release of the recorded session.
An editor from one of the papers said that the pursuit of the lawsuit was an effort to encourage transparency from the BOG.
"This is not a one-time occurrence with the CSU admin, there is a culture of secrecy that has flourished there," said Bob Moore, executive editor of the Coloradoan, citing the departure last semester of former university President Larry Penley and CSU Police Chief Dexter Yarbrough.
"We have had our attorneys remind them of their obligation under state statue and it's falling on deaf ears."
The BOG has seven days to release the full recording of the closed-door session to Larimer County Justice Stephen Schapanski who will decide if the meeting was a violation of the Colorado Open Records Act.
"The newspapers' only interest is to ensure that the Board does not repeat these violations in the future," said Denver-based attorney Christopher Beall, who specializes in First Amendment Law, in an e-mail to the Collegian on Wednesday. "The mere fact that there has been a violation of the statute does not automatically mean that Mr. Blake's selection is void."
The tape was released in order to "remove a cloud over a good candidate," and was not an admission of violating Colorado law, said Fred Kuhlwiln, a senior assistant attorney general representing the BOG.
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