The Office of Legislative Auditor General's report released Thursday said school boards may be conducting business privately that should be discussed in a public forum. No one knows if that's entirely the case, however, because too few school boards keep comprehensive records of what happens in those meetings as required by law.

"Without adequate minutes, it's difficult to tell what was discussed, let alone whether they're complying with the law," said Tim Osterstock, who managed the audit report.

The report also concluded school boards meet in closed sessions more often than other public bodies and do not review the minutes they keep.

Board members and district officials often told Brian Dean, the report's author, that Utah Office of Education and Utah School Boards Association employees advised them "the less information contained in closed-meeting minutes, the better."

Four school districts - Granite, Nebo, Provo and Salt Lake City - sometimes physically opened the door during a closed meeting to make those sessions "open," the report said.

Of 10 school districts surveyed, only the Tooele County and Carbon districts complied with the law by keeping satisfactory closed-meeting minutes.

Those found in violation were the Salt Lake City, Jordan, Nebo, Granite, Provo, North Sanpete, Iron County and Washington County districts.

The auditors included urban and rural districts on and off the Wasatch Front.

House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, offered a straightforward solution: electronically record every meeting.

"It seems to me that in today's world, it's probably not that expensive and not that overwhelming," he said.

Then, if there's a question about legality, a judge could listen to the recording.

Echoing several board presidents, Granite School Board President Patti Sandstrom said she and her colleagues now keep detailed minutes of every closed meeting. Sandstrom also reviews those minutes and signs them.

Interviews with board members or officials from three of the four school districts that physically opened the door to make the meetings "open" - Granite, Provo and Salt Lake City - said that never had happened during their tenures.

Nebo Superintendent Chris Sorensen could not be reached for comment.

"We're very aware that we're public officials and should talk about certain topics in an open session," said Laurel Young, Salt Lake City School Board president.

Osterstock and Dean said they understood the action, though they added a reasonable person would recognize that physically opening a door does not make a meeting "open."

"They'd say, 'We always try to stop them [if a prohibited issue arose in discussion], but if they kept going, we'd open the door,' " Dean said.

Auditors found board members and district officials received insufficient and inconsistent training on closed-meeting record requirements, though they did receive training on the reasons for closing a meeting.

Washington District Superintendent Max Rose, like all those interviewed, said his colleagues will repair every deficiency the report revealed.

"I dare say that I think in the next audit everyone's going to be impressed," he said.

mcronin@sltrib.com