PAWTUCKET — The state attorney general’s office this month rejected an Open Meetings Act complaint filed against the School Committee by resident Joseph C. Knight.

Knight, who is running for a seat on the committee, alleged that the committee took an illegal executive session vote to demand a refund from the Northern Rhode Island Collaborative.

His primary piece of evidence was the minutes of the March 25 meeting of the board of directors of the collaborative, a Cumberland-based nonprofit agency that provides special-education services to Pawtucket and other local communities.

The record of the collaborative meeting shows that School Supt. Hans W. Dellith presented a resolution on behalf of the Pawtucket School Committee demanding the department’s share of the collaborative’s $3.4-million surplus. The city ended up with a $748,704 payment.

Knight, according to his complaint, found no reference to such as resolution passing in the committee’s agendas prior to its appearance at the collaborative meeting.

He further quoted committee Chairman Gordon M. Gould as saying that no vote was needed on the resolution since the committee had reached a “consensus” on the matter, an account that Gould denied in a sworn affidavit submitted to the attorney general.

“As this alleged ‘consensus’ resulted in the introduction of a resolution on behalf of the Pawtucket School Department at the NRIC meeting, I believe in point of fact a vote was taken and not reported out of executive session after the committee reconvened,” Knight wrote.

Attorney Vicki J. Bejma, representing the School Department, said that the reference to a School Department resolution in the collaborative meeting minutes was a “misnomer,” since the resolution was actually brought to the collaborative on the superintendent’s initiative.

“The action … was taken solely under my own authority, in my capacity as a member of the NRIC board of directors,” said Dellith, in a response to the attorney general’s inquiry.

Knight said yesterday that while he accepted the decision, he criticized Dellith for making a major financial decision for the department — based on his comments — without seeking the tacit approval of the committee. The result, he said, was that the city failed to garner a potential $1.2-million payout.

“To suggest a settlement without proper vote from the School Committee is a disservice to the committee,” he said. “What was brought back to the committee was not enough money. We left at least $500,000 on the table.”

Gould, the committee chair, did not respond to calls yesterday.

The ruling closes one of two complaints that Knight, 53, of 104 Lyman St., has filed with the attorney general’s office.

On March 28, Knight claimed the committee failed to properly post the agendas and neglected to disclose votes taken in executive sessions on Nov. 6, Nov. 14, Dec. 11, Feb. 11, and March 11. That complaint is pending.

Knight, a retired corrections officer, has been a fixture at committee meetings for the past year, demanding more disclosure of executive session issues, including more information on agendas and disclosure of votes taken in the closed session.

But he has been criticized by Gould for making “personal attacks” on the superintendent and committee members. Knight denies this.

pmarcelo@projo.com