Tribune blog: Superintendent pay decisions should be made in open session

It seems like a no-brainer, but school boards across Missouri almost never discuss pay increases, or lack thereof, for superintendents and other school administrators in open session.
As Missouri Sunshine Law expert Jean Maneke notes in her blog, Sunshine in Missouri, boards cannot legally discuss superintendent pay raises behind closed doors:

This is a simple issue. The law is clear that if closed and open is commingled, it is the duty of the public body to separate it. The law is clear that salary matters related to current employees is never closed.

Bring that discussion back out in the light of day. The taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent.

As Ms. Maneke notes in her post (and as I and other reporters have argued constantly concerning such matters over the years), there is no blanket exception in the Sunshine Law for "personnel matters." The only exceptions are for hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting...anything else should be done in the open.