Elisha Hodge

20 Nov, 2017

Would your school board vote on a capital plan without public notice?

By |2023-04-11T10:59:34-05:00November 20, 2017|Categories: adequate public notice|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

If there’s one type of governing body that generates the most open meetings questions to my help line, it’s school boards. So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a school board member for a moment and consider the following scenario. I hope it will provide you some ideas the next time you ask a school board candidate where he or she stands on government transparency. Instead of allowing the stock answer, “I’m pro-transparency,” how would your potential school board member react in this situation? Four months ago, the school board hires a new superintendent. He immediately faces a list of  overdue capital improvement projects. Some schools need extensive repair [...]

3 Aug, 2017

Sumner County School Board blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice

By |2018-11-16T15:13:59-06:00August 3, 2017|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

The Sumner County Board of Education blames the Office of Open Records Counsel for bad advice that led it on a journey of spending almost $250,000 of taxpayer money to defend, then appeal, a public records lawsuit that it lost. From The Tennessean: "We are disappointed that the court decided that the board’s former policy did not comply with a 2008 version of Tennessee’s public records statute, especially because the Office of Open Records Counsel, which has the legal duty to interpret the act, informed the board that its policy was lawful and that its response to Mr. Jakes’ request was appropriate under the law," a statement reads. "The board [...]

18 Nov, 2015

What we learned from a citizen’s fight for public records in Sumner County

By |2018-11-16T15:14:39-06:00November 18, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

Judge Dee David Gay reads his ruling that the Sumner County Board of Education violated the Tennessee Public Records Act because it went too far in restricting how citizens could make requests. The school district would only allow citizens to view public records if they made their request in writing through the U.S. Postal Service or in person. At a cost of about three or four college educations at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Sumner County’s school officials and school board just got educated about the state’s public records law. Sumner County parents and taxpayers paid the tuition. On Nov. 13, Sumner County Judge Dee Gay ruled that the [...]

19 Sep, 2014

OORC: Carter County committee appointments may have violated Sunshine Law

By |2014-09-19T09:57:46-05:00September 19, 2014|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, Open Meetings|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Elisha Hodge with the Office of Open Records Counsel alerted the Carter County Commission chairman this week that it appears the governing body violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act in its appointments to committees. She also noted the public vote afterward did not appear to cure any violation because it did not include "new and substantial reconsideration" of the issues. The Elizabethton Star outlines in a detailed story Thursday how the commission first directed the three commissioners from each district to confer privately to decide who would be on which committee, and to forward their decision to the county clerk. Then at a Sept. 15 meeting, when a dispute was [...]

9 Sep, 2014

Tennessee Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge leaving post for new job

By |2015-08-30T02:32:44-05:00September 9, 2014|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: , , |1 Comment

Elisha Hodge, state of Tennessee's Office of Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge, the Open Records Counsel for the state of Tennessee, is leaving her post to take a new job as a legal consultant for the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, she said Tuesday. Her last day will be Oct. 3. State Comptroller Justin Wilson said in an email announcing the change Monday that Ann Butterworth, Assistant to the Comptroller, will serve as interim Open Records Counsel until a permanent replacement is named. Butterworth previously served in the position. Wilson praised Hodge's commitment in the email: "Since joining our office in 2007, Elisha has dedicated her efforts to serving [...]

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