OKLAHOMA CITY — The four members of the Billings School Board who were arrested in November for violations to the Open Meetings Act, repeatedly broke the law during 2022, records from Noble County Sheriff’s office charge.
Detailed in a probable cause affidavit, the arrests of Amanda Kendall, 41, Tracy Lee Carter, 62, Janet Barnhart 65, and Marie A. Holba, 68, come after Noble County law enforcement authorities reported the four met as the Billings School Board multiple times to discuss hiring a school superintendent and school finances without calling a meeting, posting notice of the meeting, or creating an agenda.
The probable cause affidavit also reports that three of the board members made decisions via telephone. Cory Sauser, the former superintendent of the Billings district, told sheriff’s detective Domingo Flores Jr., the four members of the school board were previously warned about their actions and told they had to follow the law.
“He (Sauser) tried to educate the board by telling them they couldn’t talk about these things because they had an agenda and they had to follow it,” Flores wrote.
Flores wrote that the school board held a meeting in June to replace him. He said the members had called candidates and interviewed them without public notice.
“He said the attorney called Tracy Carter and told him what they did was wrong,” Flores wrote. “He said they pleaded they didn’t know. He said especially Tracy Carter and Marie Holba, because they have been on the board for several years and he would be surprised they weren’t aware of the violation.”
Flores’ affidavit indicated that the group did not create an agenda for the meeting, post the agenda, or post a public notice.
“He said none of that happened,” Flores wrote.
The affidavit also indicates that Barnhart sent a letter to the other board members that said what she wanted to discuss during the next session. Sauser said he obtained a copy of the letter after he warned the board about possible violations to the Open Meetings Act.
Sauser said the group also met improperly – via telephone – after a student attending the Billings prom asked if he could bring a date who did not live in the school district. The Billings district has a policy that requires approval by the school board for students who wish to attend a school prom with date who does not live in the school district.
According to the affidavit, Sauser said the law required the board to discuss the issue during a meeting.
“Sauser said that…making a decision that should have been on the agenda and they were only board members when a meeting is in session. He said they ignored a school policy before they voted,” Flores wrote.
In another incident, Carter, Holba, Barnhart, and Kendall attended a meeting with the school’s new superintendent. That meeting was not publicly known or announced.
Flores said he also spoke with another school officials Altair Vasquez, the school board’s minutes secretary.
“She said she did have information,” he wrote. “She said where do you want me to start, there were many occasions where the board violated the Open Meeting Act. She said they were told to quit by their attorney but continued to do so.”
Violations of the Open Meetings Act are considered misdemeanors, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of $500. While there have been several incidents in the past few years where public officials have been charged with violating the act, few have gone to jail, public records indicate.
The filing follows another high-profile case involving the OMA. In early November a district judge ruled the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority violated the act after it was discovered the authority’s agendas didn’t contain the required information about proposed projects. Because the agenda was improper, the judge rules that authority’s contracts were invalid.
Kendall, Carter, Barnhart, and Holba are scheduled to appear in Noble County District Court on Jan. 9.