Investigation of Open Meeting Law Violation by Needham Select Board

I have been catching up on the past three months worth of news about Open Meeting Law violations that I missed while on my short hiatus. I found this story about an investigation by the Norfolk County DA of Open Meeting Law violations by the Needham Board of Selectmen. According to the Globe article, the Needham Board has gone into executive session 53 times since 2004. The Board claims it has gone into executive sessions to negotiate leases or purchases of property.

The article also points out that the DA found the Needham School Committee violated the Open Meeting Law in October by engaging in serial emails in which the members shared opinions about an upcoming middle school vote. Apparently the Town of Needham does not provide training in Open Meeting Law to its town officials or else the town officials were not paying attention during the training. Or they just do not care.