Cobb County school board members did not knowingly break the law when they used private email accounts to discuss official business, but they came close to unlawful actions, a senior official with the Georgia Attorney General's Office said.
Board members have agreed to take training involving open records and open meetings laws, but they have not admitted guilt and won't be sanctioned.
The case stems from two Cobb residents' formal complaints. One alleged that four of seven board members broke the law by using email to sound each other out in exchanges that were effectively meetings. The other resident contended at least one board member illegally withheld private emails after receiving an open records request.
School system spokesman Jay Dillon said the school board was expected to sign an agreement with the attorney general's office that denied the allegations but said the board pledged to comply with the law in the future.
Stefan Ritter, a senior assistant attorney for Attorney General Sam Olens, said his office believes that personal email accounts of public officials are subject to disclosure if they involve discussions about public matters. In this case, he said, school board members complied with the open records law because they disclosed the substance of the requested emails though all emails were not produced.
Ritter also said it was in dispute whether their electronic correspondence met the strict requirements of a "meeting" under Georgia law.
"From my perspective," he said, "they came close to that line."
One of the complainants, Tricia Knor, was unhappy with the outcome. Her complaint alleged that email exchanges between board members Alison Bartlett, Scott Sweeney, Tim Stultz and Kathleen Angelucci broke the law by privately deciding board business.
Knor said the board's pledge to follow the law in the future brought no comfort because the members' behavior went unsanctioned.
"I don't feel like the question in my complaint was answered," she said. "If you don't punish that behavior ... if they have not admitted to any wrongdoing, how are we going to change that behavior?"
Ritter said some unintentional violations possibly occurred but criminal prosecution requires knowing and willful acts.
"Our view is these were not as extensive violations as we have seen; for instance, with the Atlanta city school system," he said. "Some of these were new board members, and education should resolve any future issues as to knowledge."
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