UNC to follow open-meeting laws after claim

Jul 20, 2024, 02:21 PM ET

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.– The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill should pay $25,000 and its trustees need to verify a dedication to follow the state’s open-meeting laws as part of a settlement that dismissed a lawsuit over the board’s handling of sports discussions.David McKenzie, an attorney in Wake County, had filed a grievance in May in Orange County Superior Court implicating trustees of breaching open-meetings laws in previous private-session discussions tied to athletics spending plans. It came as UNC trustees weighed in on sports to highlight growing nationwide stress with schools leaping from league to league seeking more money tied to TV deals in a football-driven market.McKenzie told WRAL of Raleigh that he was” satisfied”by the settlement, which had him agree to dismiss the lawsuit and the university would pay$25,000 to cover McKenzie’s costs and legal costs. “If they’re gon na take the public’s money, they’ve got to

do things in public, “McKenzie told The News & Observer of Raleigh. “And after that those times that they don’t, they may be on the hook for attorneys’charges.” McKenzie’s initial complaint came as trustees suggested they would talk about the UNC sports spending plan in closed session at a coming conference, as well as referencing private-session conversations on sports matters in November. That came in the middle of remarks questioning the financial image under the management of athletics director Bubba Cunningham, although UNC’s interim chancellor Lee Roberts publicly backed Cunningham in a public pushback against the trustees.A judge granted several short-term restraining problems against UNC’s trustees entering into closed session for athletics financial discussions

that might consist of future conference positioning.