From the Legal Hotline

By Teri Henning, General Counsel; Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: Does Pennsylvania law require school superintendent finalist names to be public?

A: Probably not, although any "official action" taken by the school board must be conducted at a public meeting.

Although a number of states require superintendent finalists to be publicly identified, Pennsylvania law is silent on this issue. As a result, since the Sunshine Act permits agencies to discuss many "personnel" issues behind closed doors, it is possible to keep much of this information secret until very late in the process. Any action (such as making an offer) that commits an agency to a course of conduct is considered to be "official action" and must be taken at a public meeting. The public must be permitted a reasonable opportunity to comment before any official action is taken. Certainly, the final "vote" must be conducted at a public meeting, however, this allows agencies to conduct the majority of the discussions behind closed doors. 

With respect to disclosing the "finalists" before any official action is taken, most school districts do disclose "finalists" and even hold public sessions for people to meet the potential candidates. They do this in the interest of gathering public support for the final candidate and in recognition of the important position that a superintendent holds in a community.

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