WOODLAND PARK — The Woodland Park School District (WPSD) has filed a lawsuit against the City of Woodland Park, claiming the city council violated state law during a March council meeting.
In the lawsuit filed on March 18, an attorney for the school district said Woodland Park city council members did not follow Colorado's Open Meetings Law before going into an executive session at the beginning of a March 10 council meeting. This is the same meeting in which council members voted unanimously to repeal a city sales tax that sends millions in funding to local schools.
The lawsuit alleges council members did not provide enough detail about the topic of the executive session. During the meeting, the city council said the executive session was to get legal advice from the city attorney relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations.
Colorado's Open Meetings Law is in place to make sure discussions about public policy are public business, instead of discussions conducted in secret. The law covers all boards, committees, commissions, and authorities that have been delegated governmental decision-making functions by a public body or official. According to the Open Meetings Law, the topic of an executive session must be announced but should be general enough to not go against the confidential purpose of the closed-door meeting.
News5 reached out to the City of Woodland Park for comment on the lawsuit. Woodland Park Mayor Kellie Case said she had no comment.
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