Parental request of school board for religious exemption (as a personal matter unrelated to the transaction of public business) is proper subject for a closed meeting if the topic has been identified with specificity in the motion to go into closed session.
Virginia School Boards Association is not subject to FOIA; members of individual school boards attending a VASB conference should refrain from discussing public business without notifying the public.
public body not required to merge two separate databases to create a record containing the information sought by a requester; requester can ask for both databases and manipulate the raw data himself.
once city council members acted on a report that was arguably part of the city manager's working papers, any exempt status is lost and the document becomes part of the public record.
Notice for special or emergency meetings must be reasonable under the circumstances; determination of reasonableness is not within purview of FOI Advisory Council's duties.
Complaints against identifiable individuals are exempt personnel records; settlement amounts are public records, but if a record listing all amounts paid does not exist, public body has no duty to compile such a list; reworded request may yield documents sought.
An individual is entitled to his personnel record; general job classification and salary information of public officials is specifically available under FOIA.
The condition or use of real estate is no longer a valid topic for a closed meeting; city manager's working paper exemption evaporates once he disseminates document.
Physical presence of lawyer is necessary for public body to invoke closed meeting exemption regarding consultation for advice on a specific legal matter; counsel's presence is not necessarily demanded when the exemption for briefings on actual or probable litigation.
Freedom of Information Advisory Council, FOIAC, not authorized to give citizens or news reporters advice about how to deal with the State Corporation Commission
The informal gathering of three members of the Norfolk Wetlands Board to tour the site of an applicant for a dredging permit is considered a meeting under FOIA because it necessarily concerns the transaction of public business
A so-called master list of courses offered by a school during the next academic year, the times and who will be teaching them is a public record despite the list's possible revision by the administration.
Inquiries as to the status of e-mail under the Freedom of Information Act, charges for electronic records, the working papers exemption, assessment of fees for producing a requested record, the meaning of 'reasonable specificity'
