The University of Florida is opening its board retreats to the public after the Board of Trustees was accused of violating state law by essentially holding closed meetings, NPR affiliate WUFT reported.
While board retreats are supposed to be public, in accordance with Florida’s Sunshine Law, the UF governing board has met in secret quarters since 2018. Though the board gave notice of the meeting dates as required by law, the university did not provide the location of the retreats, which critics argue amount to conducting closed meetings.
“The [Board of Trustees] is violating the Sunshine Law by not providing notice and allowing the public to attend its retreats,” Barbara Petersen, who leads the nonpartisan Florida Center for Government Accountability, which advocates for transparency, told WUFT. “The Sunshine Law applies to all meetings of the BOT at which public business is to be transacted or discussed.”
David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment at UF, also told the radio station that board actions were “inconsistent” with Florida’s Sunshine Law.
In addition, UF has failed to publish agendas or minutes from those meetings, WUFT reported.
Following critical coverage, UF spokesperson Steve Orlando told the NPR affiliate that board retreats are public and that the board’s “intent has never been to close them.” Going forward, the university will publish the location of such retreats ahead of time, he said.
