Court dismisses EvCC appeal of public meetings ruling

EVERETT — A court ruled Monday to dismiss an Everett Community College appeal of a judge’s ruling last year ordering the college’s board of trustees to vote before closing its Early Learning Center.

The college had appealed a June 2025 decision from a Snohomish County Superior Court judge, who ruled that the college had circumvented the state’s Open Public Meetings Act by closing the child care center without a board vote or opportunity for public comment. The original lawsuit against the college was filed by Aleena Richie, a parent at the college who had two children enrolled in the center.

In appellate court filings earlier this year, attorneys for the college argued that the judge’s ruling was in error and wrote that the ruling could lead to “absurd” results where minor administrative decisions would need to be subject to the public meetings law.

“The superior court’s ruling imposes OPMA compliance on the President’s Board-delegated operational decisions, which created an ongoing cloud of uncertainty on the authority of the presidents of all State community and technical colleges and governance by their Boards of Trustees. A recurrence of the problem is highly likely, and a ruling is needed for future college decisions,” wrote Usama Ahmed, an assistant attorney general, in a filing for the college.

https://www.heraldnet.com/2026/05/14/court-dismisses-evcc-appeal-of-public-meetings-ruling/