Trustees debate public-engagement policy language tied to Idaho open-meeting law; policy tabled for clarification

A lengthy discussion focused on proposed language in the public engagement policy about trustee interactions with the public. One trustee read from the open meeting law and questioned whether the policy's current wording would bar trustees from informal conversations: "I don't believe that's correct," a trustee said while reading the statute, and other trustees argued the policy should simply cite Idaho code rather than attempt detailed definitions.

Participants debated whether an individual trustee speaking with a patron constitutes deliberation that would fall under Title 74; the board agreed to table the policy and asked staff to bring back clarified language, with one trustee saying, "So so let's just table it. We'll get some clarification language put in there or eliminate it and bring it back next month."