Board of Trustees Agenda May 14 and 15

employment, and perhaps a preferred start date. Perhaps some of those items are outside of the board’s control and are set by law or rules (such as benefits like sick or vacation leave, eligibility for retirement systems, and similar matters) and that information is thus publicly known or publicly available through other means. And, in advance of the search, the board would have already publicly discussed the process of negotiations with an apparent best applicant (finalist). See Question # 1. Contact Person. If the board has reserved to itself the approval of certain conditions of employment with the preferred apparent finalist (or perhaps even finalists), such as salary, start date, or similar matters, the board could authorize a person to discuss those details preliminarily with that finalist or finalists and have the board representative report back to the board on those preliminary discussions. For example, that person could perhaps be an individual board member, or a board staff member, a board attorney, or a search firm, or other non-board member. Because those details relate to the qualifications of the applicant (that is, they concern whether this applicant is qualified to accept a proposed salary, and whether this applicant is qualified to start on the date necessary), the board could receive additional information concerning an applicant’s ability to meet the conditions of employment and include such information in its discussions in executive session under RCW 42.30.110(1)(g). No Votes in Executive Session. However, a board cannot vote on the conditions of employment in executive session. RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) (“When a governing body elects to take final action hiring, setting the salary of an individual employee … that action shall be taken in a meeting open to the public”). See also Miller v. City of Tacoma .

14. Is a board required to release copies of applications and materials submitted with an application for a vacant position upon a request?

It depends. That release is governed by other laws. The OPMA does not govern access to a board’s application materials. Therefore, that question is outside the scope of this FAQ. Here is some general information. Public Records Act . In short answer, this question involves a different law, the Public Records Act (PRA) at RCW 42.56. The PRA provides access to public records of an agency, upon request. The PRA provides an exemption from disclosure for “all applications for public employment, including the names of applicants, resumes, and other related materials submitted with respect to an applicant[.]” RCW 42.56.250(2). In addition, certain other specific information in personnel files is exempt. See also RCW 42.56.250(3) and RCW 42.56.230(3). These provisions would be pertinent to requests for non-elected positions . Also, RCW 42.56.230(3) exempts “personal information in files maintained for employees, appointees, or elected officials of any public agency to the extent that disclosure would violate their right to privacy.” (Emphasis added.) However, the appointment process to fill a vacancy for an elected position can be viewed as the “functional equivalent” of a campaign. The person appointed to fill a vacant elective

FAQ June 1, 2016

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