School board member Allen Dyer is all about open meetings. He is so passionate about open meetings that he has sued the school board multiple times costing the school system in excess of $400,000 in legal costs. He hasn’t won yet but that doesn’t deter him. Recently he filed suit again.
Allen believes that the only way for the school system to be truly transparent is for all meetings and deliberations of the board to be open to the public and press. The irony is that the participants in open meetings are often less than honest. Open meetings are great for public posturing but lousy for getting consensus on difficult issues.
I should note that I am not opposed to open meetings. I am simply opposed to having all meetings open. That does not serve the greater good. There are times for open meetings and there are times when the organization is better served by having the board members meet privately. In a private meeting, participants tend to be more candid and, ironically, more open.
Allen Dyer doesn’t see it that way. He likes to have all discussions and deliberations right out in the open where he can posture and pontificate. He seems more interested in promoting himself as the great defender of openness and transparency to the exclusion of all other matters.
