Protecting the public's right to know

District Judge Robert Estes in Churchill County deserves a thumbs up not only from newspapers but from the public for his recent ruling removing the Lahontan Valley News from a defamation lawsuit brought by three former school administrators.

The administrators - former superintendent Ron Flores and assistant superintendents Gary Imelli and Don Lindeman - sued the school district over comments made about them by board members at open meetings.

School officials had been critical because the administrators, since 1996, had been adding up comp time and either using it for vacation or cashing it out at the end of the year. They'd been paid a total of $186,374 by the time they left the school district.

It was obviously a matter of concern for the board - and for the taxpaying public. It reflected not only on the work done by three top administrators but also on oversight of the district by elected school-board members.

As would be expected, the newspaper reported on the controversy and was named in the lawsuit. Anyone can be sued by anyone, of course, but it's reassuring to see Judge Estes upholding Nevada's law guaranteeing freedom of the press.

Worth noting were Estes' comments: "Simply put, the newspaper did nothing more than keep the citizenry informed about questions raised at a public meeting concerning an issue in which the public has a valid interest."

Anyone who attended those Fallon meetings could have heard the same discussions, and they probably would have related the events to their friends and neighbors.

The Lahontan Valley News, which is now a sister newspaper of the Nevada Appeal, was upholding its responsibility to the community by reporting the controversy. It was also upholding its responsibility by defending itself against the lawsuit.

As Estes noted, allowing such a lawsuit to go forward could have a chilling effect on the reporting of public controversies. The judge's ruling, however, should have the opposite effect - discouraging attempts to prevent the public from scrutinizing the activities of tax-paid employees and elected officials.