In an important win on a tax recall petition in Webster County, Webster County Circuit Court Judge Rene´ Williams has thrown out a lawsuit from the Webster County Board of Education that attempted to block a properly petitioned school tax recall item from appearing on the ballot.

The judge said that while deliberations about details of such lawsuits can be conducted in closed session to protect client-attorney rights, in the case of a public agency, the actual vote to initiate a suit is a public item and must be conducted in public. The Webster County board failed to comply with this legal requirement.

The judge was also unimpressed with an attempt by the school board to hide the voting of individual members on the decision to sue. The judge said, “By plaintiff’s counsel’s own admission the board tried to conceal their actions from the public.”

How can the public intelligently vote for people if those elected officials hide what they are doing from the same voting public?

How could elected officials try to pull such a stunt?

In any event, it looks like a great day for government transparency. Other governmental organizations around the state need to see what Webster County’s school board did wrong so they don’t get caught making the same mistake.

Learn all the details in this very thorough Journal Enterprise article.