From the Hotline

By Legal Department
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: Our school district has been interviewing to replace our current superintendent. They have narrowed the field to three candidates and plan to hold public meetings next week so that the public can meet them and ask questions. They have refused to provide the names of the finalists in advance of the meeting. Does this violate Pennsylvania law?

A: Probably not. There is no state law that requires a school district to provide the public with a list of finalists for a superintendent’s position. The Sunshine Act also permits school boards to discuss these candidates behind closed doors, although they must take any official action to “hire” a candidate at an open, advertised meeting, and must give the public a reasonable opportunity to comment prior to hiring.

From a public policy standpoint, however, if the school district’s intent is to invite public participation in the hiring process (and to get buy-in from the public about their final candidates), then its refusal to release the names of the finalists in advance of the public meeting is difficult to comprehend. How does a citizen know whether he or she wants to attend the meeting or question the candidates if he or she doesn't even know who they are? More importantly, how does one prepare questions for a specific candidate without knowing who that candidate is and something about his or her background in advance? The school district here should release the names in advance of the public meetings. Doing so would demonstrate that its interest in including the public in the hiring process is genuine and would allow the public to participate in the process in a meaningful way.

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