Experts Say WSU May Have Violated Open-meetings Law

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal experts say Washington State University's Board of Regents may have violated open-meetings law when voting on the next president of the institution. The Seattle Times reports that on Friday regents voted unanimously for "candidate C," who was later announced as Kirk Schulz, but some say identifying candidates only by letters is like using code in a public meeting. Regent Mike Worthy says WSU's attorney had approved the procedure. He says candidates were promised anonymity so their current employers wouldn't know they were seeking other opportunities. Former state auditor and Open Public Meetings Act expert Brian Sonntag says if a decision, such as who should run a university, is supposed to be public, labeling the candidates with "code" keeps the public in the dark.