BILLINGS — The criminal charges against four members of the Billings School Board who were arrested and charged with violating the state’s Open Meetings Act were quietly dismissed last month by the Noble County District Attorney’s office.
Court records show that Brian Hermanson, District Attorney for Kay and Noble counties, filed four separate motions to dismiss all charges on May 25 in Noble County District Court. Hermanson’s motions dismissed the charges against Amanda Kendall, 41; Tracy Lee Carter, 62; Janet Barnhart, 65; and Marie A. Holba, 68.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled. A notation on the document reads, “in interests of justice with court costs to state.”
Telephone calls to Hermanson’s office were not returned.
The four were charged after an investigation by the Noble County Sheriff’s office showed the group had met as the Billings School Board multiple times to discuss hiring a school superintendent and school finances without calling a meeting, posting a notice of the meeting or creating an agenda.
A probable cause affidavit indicated that three of the board members made decisions via telephone. Cory Sauser, former superintendent of the Billings School District, told sheriff’s detective Domingo Flores Jr., the four members of the school board had been warned about their actions and told they were required 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 Sauser. Sauser 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,” the sheriff’s affidavit said. “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.”
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.