Bedford County School Board Chairman Gary Hostutler on Friday defended the board's decision to vote at a meeting Thursday to hire a new superintendent without identifying him or even stating publicly that a candidate was being approved -- a possible violation of Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.

After emerging from an hourlong closed session Thursday night, Huddleston District representative David Black made a motion "to approve the personnel report."

It only became evident the personnel report included a recommendation to hire a new superintendent after school board member Talbot Huff, who represented the Moneta District, resigned before the vote, stating he could not support hiring the applicant the board chose. School board members refused to identify the new superintendent, Doug Schuch, until noon Friday.

Alan Gernhardt, staff attorney for the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, said Friday that the state's open-government legislation calls for the substance of motions made after closed session to be "reasonably identified."

"If you can't tell what they voted on, they didn't do it well enough," he said.

When asked if he felt the board action Thursday night met FOIA requirements, Hostutler said: "I believe we did and in talking to our lawyer, he believes it did also."

The school board's attorney, Frank Wright, of the Rustburg firm Overbey, Hawkins & Wright, said he was reluctant to comment because he was waiting for copies of the motions made at Thursday's meeting.

"I am still looking into it," he said.

Veteran school board member Shirley McCabe, who represents the Montvale District, voted against the personnel report. Big Island District representative Julie Bennington was absent.

Hostutler said Schuch's official contract would have to be approved at a future school board meeting.

The school board holds closed meetings before the regular meetings to discuss personnel matters and disciplinary action, which is permitted under Virginia's open government laws.

"We are very strict on what we talk about. It's students and personnel, not the budget or anything like that," Hostutler said

After certifying what was discussed in the closed meeting meets FOIA requirements, the board then takes action on any personnel or discipline recommendations.

The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council issued an opinion in 2005 related to a similar occurrence in Orange County, where the decision not to renew the superintendent's contract was voted on in a motion "to approve the recommendation of the School Board in Personnel Case #45-50 as recommended in Closed Session."

Maria Everett, executive director of the council, concluded the Orange County School Board's vague motion failed to "reasonably identify the essential import of the action taken by the board," and by neglecting to do so did not meet FOIA requirements.

Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said Thursday night that not fully disclosing what was being voted on seemed to defeat the purpose of the state's open-government requirements.