School tour draws open-meetings complaint; FCPS disputes alleged violation

A tour intended to examine the effects of nearby data center development has become a dispute over whether Frederick County school board members conducted public business without an open meeting.

Kelly Foster and Cindy Rose filed a complaint on behalf of the Republican Women of Frederick County after five board members attended a June 25 visit to Carroll Manor Elementary School. The Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board has been asked to review the alleged violation, The Frederick News-Post reports.

FCPS chief legal counsel Steven Blivess responded Oct. 14 that the board did not violate the law and that the complaint should be rejected. No advisory opinion resolving the complaint was reported.

Del. April Miller initially invited three board members who had requested discussion of a data center campus planned within 2,000 feet of the school. She said she became concerned when board leadership also planned to attend and would have preferred opening the gathering to the public.

Five members ultimately attended: Janie Inglis Monier, Jaime Brennan, Chad King Wilson Sr., Board President Dean Rose and Vice President Rae Gallagher.

In an affidavit described by the newspaper, FCPS Chief Operating Officer Paul Lebo said the group toured the school and then discussed the project in the media center. He said elected officials from other government bodies led much of the conversation, while school board members participated less.

Lebo described comments about potential effects on students but said members did not take specific positions or seek support for action. Blivess relied on that distinction in defending the visit.

Foster argues that the discussion itself involved public business. Brennan also told the newspaper that she believes the complaint is valid and a violation occurred.

The parties additionally dispute the timing and motivation of the complaint. Foster questioned a response extension as a delay tactic. Blivess said the extension was needed for preparation alongside labor arbitration and accused the complainants of trying to influence the election. Those are competing assertions, not findings by the oversight board.

Dean Rose and FCPS declined substantive comment on the pending matter. Miller said she hopes the eventual opinion clarifies the rules.

The central question remains whether the circumstances of this gathering brought it within the open-meetings requirements. The supplied report describes that question as unresolved.