Another needless closed meeting

By Staff
November 30, 2003
This time, it was the Meridian School Board that went behind closed doors to evaluate the performance of interim superintendent Sylvia Autry. What was said at the closed meeting that could not have been said in public?
From all indications, board members and the community at large are pleased with the manner in which Autry has handled the duties of the superintendent's office on an interim basis. She took over a troubled district that is now showing signs of real progress. Offering her the opportunity to stay on for another year seems perfectly appropriate.
The public has the right to be included in her performance evaluation, too.
While Mississippi's open meetings law allows public agencies such as school boards to discuss personnel matters behind closed doors, there is no mandate to do so. We encourage members of the Meridian School Board to conduct their business, all of it, in the open. Let's not wreck the foundation of credibility they are building with another needless exclusion of the public from matters in which we all have a vested interest.