A series of email messages sent to all 12 members of the Horry County Schools Board of Education apparently broke state laws on open meetings by public bodies.
The email chain originated with board member Debbie Edmonds who sent a group email to the other 11 members of the board addressing an issue that she believed occurred during public comment at the regular meeting of the board the previous evening.
Two other board members, Janet Graham and David Koch, responded, again including their messages to all board members.
All email messages sent by and to public officials from a public domain are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. In this case, the “@ horrycountyschools.net” email address was used. Furthermore, when such messages are sent to a majority (quorum) of the governing members of a public body, in this case every member, and responses are sent to these messages, the email string alone is considered to have been a meeting of the body without proper public notice or public transparency regarding the content of the emails.
(click on headline above to read more)