District retreats. (Editorial).

WHILE MANY LOOK AT THE state's Freedom of Information Act, passed in 1967, as only for the media, the law opens up public records to everyone. Anyone in Arkansas has the same right to access public records and public meetings as does the press -- those of us in the news business just happen to get paid for it.

If it's public business and the public is paying for it, the public has a right to know how that business is being conducted. That's called open government, and that it is as it should be. While it has been weakened over the years by numerous exemptions, it remains one of the best FOI laws in the country.

Some of the smaller school districts across the state are upset at a recent FOIA opinion by Attorney GeneralMark Pryor that limits some retreats by school boards -- such as those "working retreats" held in a restaurant outside their home district.

Although some legislators at a recent Legislative Joint Auditing Committee questioned the opinion, we think the AG is right on target. If school board members discuss school business at the retreat, that makes it a public meeting, and the AG says those meetings must be held within the school district so the public can attend.

Those legislators said some school administrators have told them their districts are so small that there are no restaurants within their boundaries.

One legislator says he'll introduce a bill to allow school boards to cross district lines to attend retreats. We say a district that is so small it has no place suitable for a retreat is too small and needs to be consolidated.