An appellate court has ruled that the Jordan-Elbridge School District violated the open meetings law on three occasions by going into executive session.

The matter was taken to court by former J-E High School Principal David Zehner. In court documents, he alleged the J-E Board of Education violated New York’s Open Meetings Law and requested reimbursement for attorney fees.

Supreme Court Hon. Donald Greenwood ordered in January 2011 that the board of education was required to give a specific reason for taking matters to executive session.

“In this case, the court properly determined that [Jordan-Elbridge Board of Education] violated the Open Meetings Law on three occasions by merely reciting statutory categories for going into executive session,” the appellate court wrote.

The Rochester appellate court upheld Greenwood’s decision, and further agreed that the district reimburse Zehner’s attorney fees.

Read the decision online here.