The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a cunning editorial board. Far be it from them to argue in the abstract the evils of serial meetings designed to avoid Open Door laws. Nope, they bring out a big rhetorical gun in the form of Bobby Knight.
SB 89 is designed to prevent the practice of officials skirting the Open Door Laws by having less than a quorum meet first, then have a member or two from the first group meet with the next group of less than a quorum, discussing the public’s business and making public decisions behind closed doors.
The Journal Gazette reminds us that this is what happened in the case of the firing of Bobby Knight.
When Myles Brand wanted to fire Coach Bob Knight in September 2000, the Indiana University president called the university trustees to his home on the Bloomington campus. He met with four of the nine trustees in one room and four trustees in another room.
The embattled basketball coach was fired the next day.
A group of Knight supporters challenged the vote in a lawsuit, but a Clark County judge rightly ruled that state law was not violated. The trustees simply took advantage of a loophole in Indiana’s Open Door Law to do the public’s business behind closed doors.
The editorial mentions that the bill passed the Senate 48-2 and that the two “no” votes were Senators Wyss and Hershman. Senator Wyss said, “It just looks like you could work around it, so why bother?†I’d be interested to know what the work around is.
Anyway, good job by the Journal Gazette. Next time, I’d suggest they figure out a way to work class basketball into their editorial. That’s Hoosier gold.
Knight deserved it.
There, I’ve said it, and fully expect to be flamed for my blasphemy.
Basketball is far too easy an image for harried editors working at the last minute. Given the many law-suits filed after the Knight firing, I am, quite frankly, sick of it. Can’t editorial writers come up with something that might actually involve research or protracted thought?
(Like what?) Oh, I don’t know – Woodrow Wilson…
Whether Knight deserved to be fired is quite beside the point.
I agree with Doug that this was a clever move. It makes the issue of truly public meetings accessible in a way that zoning board approvals and even teaching creationism in the classroom don’t.
But the use of serial meetings to engineer the firing of Bobby Knight as IU basketball coach? THAT’S something you can get people to care about.