Bethalto School Board Discusses Alleged Violation of Open Meetings Act

BETHALTO - The Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 Board of Education held a special meeting to talk about the Public Access Counselor (PAC) investigation into the Board regarding the Open Meetings Act (OMA).

On Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, the Board invited attorney Adam Hennings to talk about the investigation. Following the Board’s regular meeting on Sept. 29, 2025, a reporter with The Alton Telegraph submitted a Request for Review with PAC, alleging that the Board violated the OMA by not revealing the name of a middle school teacher after the Board voted to terminate the teacher.

Section 2(e) of OMA states, “Final action shall be preceded by a public recital of the nature of the matter being considered and other information that will inform the public of the business being conducted.” The Telegraph reporter argued that the Board did not provide “an adequate public recital,” according to Assistant Attorney General Christina Lucente-McCullough.

On Oct. 6, 2025, Lucente-McCullough sent Board President Todd Meiser a letter that stated the office had “determined that further action is warranted.” In the letter, Lucente-McCullough asked for copies of the agenda, minutes and any recordings of the meeting, as well as a written response to the allegation.

During the Oct. 14 meeting, Hennings noted that he believes the Board did not violate the OMA.

“It's our position that the Board's public recital of the action item was sufficient under Illinois law,” Hennings said. “The language of the Illinois statute does not require listing employee names specifically.”

He explained that, in 2017, the Illinois Supreme Court decided that “the language of an action item has to state the essence of the matter under consideration, but the Act does not require more beyond that.” Ultimately, the PAC will review the language that was used in the September meeting and decide whether or not it should have been worded differently.

If the PAC rules that the Board did violate OMA, the PAC could order “remedial measures,” including declaring the action item from the Sept. 29 meeting is ongoing, in which case the Board would have to vote again.

However, Hennings emphasized that the PAC has no ability to order monetary damages or to impose criminal penalties. If the PAC issues a decision against the district, the Board can also file an appeal in circuit court.

“We're going to be fully compliant with the investigation,” Hennings added. “It's our position on the legal side that the board acted appropriately and that no violation occurred.”

Board member Michael Kirby asked for clarification on what would happen if the PAC found the Sept. 29 vote “null and void.” Hennings said it would not impact the finality of the agreement reached between the district and the teacher, but “there may be some clean-up efforts” to correct the language and how the information was presented to the public.

Member Dallas Zimmerman asked if the Board could redo the vote to correct any issue. Hennings suggested that the Board wait to see how the PAC rules before “proactively” trying to correct anything.

“Again, it's our position that there was no violation,” he added.

The meeting concluded soon after. Board member Don Woelfel was absent.

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