Director denies records appeal over school-district meeting recordings, cites OPMA jurisdiction limits

The Government Records Office director denied an appeal by Cliff Murray challenging the availability and completeness of some school-district meeting recordings, saying Open and Public Meetings Act (OPMA) compliance is not within the office’s jurisdiction and that recordings of closed sessions are nonpublic under GRAMA.

Murray said he attended parts of a district meeting that began earlier than the posted commencement time and that the recording therefore might not be a complete public record. He asked the office to compel access to the recordings. The district's representative, Mister Miles, responded that the district routinely holds closed sessions and that recordings or written minutes of closed meetings are protected under the statutory provisions cited; he said the district had denied the record as protected.

The director said whether a closed session was properly convened under OPMA is outside the scope of the Government Records Office and noted that the Open and Public Meetings Act provides an exclusive remedy—filing a suit in district court—for alleged OPMA violations. On that basis the director denied the appeal and advised Murray of the court-based remedy and the timelines available for OPMA challenges. The hearing adjourned after the ruling.