The Morgan County attorney's office has begun issuing subpoenas in its investigation of the Morgan school board for holding possibly illegal executive sessions.
A complaint was filed against the board in October by Morgan resident Janet Jacobson, who said the panel regularly holds illegal secret meetings and in one case discussed how to handle her as a "radical detractor."County Attorney Dwight King declined to say how many subpoenas would be issued, and he would not elaborate on the investigation.
"We've run down all the information we could get voluntarily," King said of the probe, which is headed by Sheriff Bert Hol-brook. "Some people are reluctant to come forward and voluntarily give information, and we want the protection of a court subpoena.
"You really have to spell out what you're looking for (in the subpoena) because of the complex rules set by the state Supreme Court. So you don't get the right to go on a fishing trip with this . . . . We need to proceed very carefully, so not to taint the proceedings," he said.
Holbrook said he couldn't comment on the investigation but said he expected it to be completed in two or three weeks and he would call a press conference at that time.
Jacobson's complaint came in the wake of an investigation run by King last school year after a report by the Standard-Examiner revealed that during an eight-month period, the board held a private session during every regular meeting except one.
As a result of that investigation, King issued a letter to the board and its attorney, directing members to comply with the Utah Open Meetings Act and conduct board business in public.
School board president Earl McCain said Jacobson was discussed at an Oct. 18 meeting, but he denied that the board violated state statute at that or any closed session held by the board.
In January, McCain, who did not run for re-election, will be replaced on the board by either Kathy Collins, Terry Clawson or Daniel Polad. The winner of that Precinct 1 seat will be determined in a special election set for Dec. 20.
Current board member La-Jean Francis will be up for re-election in the Dec. 20 voting. She is challenged by Chet Adams for the school board seat in Precinct 2.
The new election is the result of unauthorized voting during the Nov. 8 election, in which people outside of the two precincts were allowed to cast ballots for the school board races. The unauthorized voting was the result of "honest mistakes," said County Clerk Janis Widdison.