Rowen

This case involves construction of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Gov. Code, § 54950 et seq.), which requires in its key provision (§ 54953) that “[a]ll meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public ... except as otherwise provided in this chapter.” The principal question presented is whether a school board violates that requirement by meeting in closed session with prospective contractors—in this case a “consortium” of three real estate specialists—to discuss with those persons their qualifications to assist the board in disposing of surplus real property.

Procedural and Factual Background

The closed session complained of occurred on December 8, 1977, following a regularly scheduled public meeting of the Board of Education of the Santa Clara Unified School District. The secretary of the board kept “notes” of the “topics” discussed during the closed session, but there were no formal minutes. The notes reflect that the topic of the discussion concerned the qualifications of the consortium to perform the proposed service. The parties have stipulated that there was no commitment made during the closed session that the board would employ or contract…