January 22, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Midland Park Judge’s OPRA ruling excludes some documents The Midland Park Board of Education will have to post attachments and support materials along with is regular meeting agendas from now on, but it will not be required to provide any rationale when it withholds information it deems privileged or confidential. In a final decision rendered by Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne on a complaint filed by resident David Opderbeck, Judge Doyne ruled that the board “shall make available to the public, by posting to its public website, no later than forty-eight (48) hours before all regularly scheduled and special board meetings, the full agenda for such meetings, if such agenda is posted, including copies of any appendices, attachments, reports, and other documents referred to in the agenda, except to the extent defendant has a good faith belief that such documents are subject to an enumerated privileged, exemption or the like under the Open Public Records Act, Open Public Meetings Act, or common law right to information.” Judge Doyne’s decision did not require the board to provide the documents deemed confidential in a redacted form. Opterdeck had sought to have a log list- ing of excluded documents included with the agenda, and asked that “claims of privilege or confidentiality be based on particularized facts,” nor “merely because such documents fall within a general category of docu- ments.” .“I hope that the permanent injunction issued by the court will help facilitate an open and cooperative exchange of information between the Board of Educa- tion and the public,” commented Opterdeck after the decision was rendered. Opterdeck, who represented himself, is a law professor at Seton Hall University Law School and the principal of The Opderbeck Law Firm. Board President William Sullivan did not return a request to comment on the judge’s order nor on whether the board would appeal. The board has 45 days from Jan. 6 to file an appeal. Meanwhile, however, the board’s Jan. 7 electronic agenda included 140 pages of support mate- rial. The agenda for the Jan. 21 meeting had not been posted by press time. In his complaint, Opderbeck claimed that the board’s past and continued refusal to provide the public with attachments to its meeting agendas prior to board meet- ings violated the Open Public Meetings and Public Records acts. He said attachments to the agenda were not made available to the public until after the meeting was concluded and only pursuant to a written request under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The board contended that some supplementary agenda items could not be made public prior to meetings because they may have contained protected or confiden- tial information. Correction The article on Midland Park Councilman Nick Papa- pietro’s election as borough council president incorrectly stated his tenure on the council. He has been a coun- cil member for six years, not 12. The Villadom Times regrets the error.