Board of Trustees Agenda May 14 and 15

 For example, it would be appropriate for a board to: o

Be clear in its announcement of the vacancy that it will not consider applicants who do not meet defined minimum qualifications or who submit their applications past the deadline. The board could then have a search firm, agency staff, or a search committee member explain to those applicants that pursuant to board procedures, their applications will not be provided to the board. o Permit a search firm, committee member or staff to recommend in executive session which applicants the board should move to the next step or interview as part of the process of evaluating applicants, so long as that information is advisory only and does not bind the board. o Permit a search firm, committee or staff to forward full application packets to the board only for applicants who exceed the minimum qualifications or after a preliminary interview (with the firm or committee or staff), so long as the board reserves to itself the ability to consider any applicants meeting the minimum qualifications, and reserves to itself the authority to review any and all applications if it so chooses. o Permit its members to express their views on an applicant or applicants in executive session, so long as they do not vote or take a straw vote that selects semi-finalists or finalists and simultaneously eliminates any applicants from consideration.

12.Can a board use designations such as “Candidate A, Candidate B, Candidate C” when meeting in public to discuss the applicants or to narrow the applicants to a list of finalists, or designate a finalist, if the board is not using their names?

There is no court decision precisely on this issue. The answer may depend on the position being filled. Here is some suggested guidance.

Elected positions. As discussed in Question # 14, most parts of applications for appointment to a vacant elected position should probably be disclosed, including names of applicants. Those elected positions are filled in the first instance by the voters, who during a campaign are entitled to receive information about candidates who seek to serve them in an elected position. See RCW 29A.24 (declarations of candidacy); RCW 42.17A (campaign finance disclosures). Board interviews to fill a vacant elected position must be conducted in public, so those applicants’ names become public at that point by law. RCW 42.30.110(1)(h). In effect, their applications and interviews to fill a vacant elected position are the functional equivalent of a campaign. Presumably, those applicants will want (and in fact, may need) public knowledge of and support for their application (candidacy). And, of course, final actions appointing someone to the vacancy must be conducted in public. Therefore, using a “Candidate A, Candidate B, Candidate C” or similar designation in the board’s public discussions to fill vacant elected positions serves no public policy purpose and is not advised.

FAQ June 1, 2016

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