Gausman v. Sioux City School District - Open Meetings Act Violation
Summary
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court's ruling on open meetings violations by the Sioux City Community School District. The court found that a closed session meeting exceeded the scope of professional competency evaluation under Iowa Code section 21.5(1)(i) and that the former board president was not entitled to safe harbor protections. The superintendent was awarded attorney fees and costs totaling $52,704.86.
What changed
The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the district court's finding that a closed session meeting exceeded the scope of an evaluation of professional competency under Iowa Code section 21.5(1)(i) and that the former board president was not entitled to safe harbor protections under the Open Meetings Act. The court reversed the district court's finding regarding a different closed session meeting, finding it complied with the Act. The $52,704.86 attorney fee award was affirmed.
School districts and board members should ensure that closed session discussions strictly adhere to enumerated statutory exceptions under the Open Meetings Act. Board presidents claiming safe harbor protections must meet all statutory requirements. The decision clarifies the scope of the professional competency evaluation exception and the conditions for invoking safe harbor provisions.
Archived snapshot
Apr 18, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Case No. 24-1309
Dr. Paul R. Gausman
v.
Sioux City Community School District, Daniel D. Greenwell, Jan George, Taylor Goodvin, and Bob Michaelson
Former superintendent of the Sioux City Community School District brought this action against the District and four of its school board members for alleged violations of Iowa’s Open Meetings Act. The District appeals the district court’s orders finding that a portion of a closed session meeting exceeded the scope of an evaluation of professional competency under Iowa Code section 21.5(1)(i), that the former board president was not entitled to the safe harbor protections of the Act, and that the superintendent was entitled to attorney fees and costs totaling $52,704.86. The superintendent cross-appeals, arguing the district court erred in finding that a different closed session meeting complied with the Act.
County: Woodbury Trial Court Case No.: LACV206787
Appellee
Dr. Paul R. Gausman
Appellant
Sioux City Community School District, Daniel D. Greenwell, Jan George, Taylor Goodvin, and Bob Michaelson
Attorney for the Appellee
Stanley E. Munger
Attorneys for the Appellant
Jason M. Craig
Brett S. Nitzschke
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
15-15-5
Mar 24, 2026 9:00 AM
Briefs
Appellant Reply Brief (326.49 KB)
Appellee Reply Brief (313.88 KB)
Supreme Court Opinion
Opinion Number:
24-1309
Date Published:
Apr 17, 2026
PDF of the Opinion (158.91 KB)
Other Information
Date Retained:
Oct 28, 2025 View archived opinions from prior to November 2017
© 2026 Iowa Judicial Branch. All Rights Reserved.
Named provisions
Related changes
Get daily alerts for Iowa Supreme Court
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Source
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from IA Courts.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when Iowa Supreme Court publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.