School board actions violate Brown Act

On Sept. 5, the Bear Valley Unified School District board meeting was delayed waiting for a board member to arrive. When president Ken Turney pounded the gavel and called for the meeting to begin, he made some changes to the agenda. Those changes may have violated the Brown Act.

Turney announced that four items on the open session of the Sept. 5 meeting were being moved until after the board met in closed session. The items weren’t listed on the closed session agenda. Nothing but an unnamed pending litigation case that’s been on the agenda for months was listed.

The Ralph M. Brown Act is a state law that is often called the open meeting law. It assures the public that government does its business openly and not behind closed doors. The Act requires things such as agendas, and posting the agenda and meeting notices 72 hours before the regular meeting. The Act requires the agenda to list items for discussion and action, and allows for the public to comment on items on the agenda among other things.

Closed sessions are allowed for certain discussion and action items, but those items must be disclosed on the posted agenda.

Turney, when he adjourned the open session portion of the Sept. 5 meeting, said, “We do have need for a closed session, and there will be action taken.”

The school board’s agenda has a standard item that appears on every school board agenda: Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release/Reassignment/Transfer/Appointment Request. There were no specifics listed under this heading Sept. 5. Shelley Black, school board administrative secretary and secretary to the board, said the district’s legal counsel advised the district to put that on the agenda years ago. Black said it allows the board to enter into closed session if a serious employee issue arises after the agenda is posted.

According to Tom Newton, attorney for California Newspaper Publishers Association, the blanket public employee listing isn’t legal. The Brown Act was amended in 1994 to prevent government bodies from using a generic and intentionally vague summary item on agendas as a way to retreat behind closed doors without a specific item for discussion. If an agency covered by the Brown Act has a specific need for a closed session, it should be listed, Newton said.

The four items pulled from the open session of the Sept. 5 school board meeting dealt with facilitator agreements and mentor stipends. The first item was a facilitator agreement with Johanna Hofmeister for training she will provide the district’s certificated personnel.

The second item is a facilitator agreement with Elena Peavy. Peavy’s contract is for part-time counseling services at Big Bear Middle School for the 2007-08 school year per the Middle School Supplemental Counseling Program.

The third facilitator agreement pulled for discussion and action in closed session by the school board is an agreement with Mike Clifton to provide support and training for Big Bear High School coaches for the 2007-08 school year.

Hofmeister, Peavy and Clifton are former employees of the Bear Valley Unified School District, but are not considered current employees. Newton said in each case, the contract or facilitator agreements should have been discussed in open session. A government agency can go into closed session to discuss public employees or officers including individuals who function as an employee, Newton said. In this case, Peavy could be considered functioning as an employee, but the item should have been listed under closed session, Newton said.

The fourth item pulled for discussion and action, did have to do with employees. It asked the board to approve on site mentor teachers for the current school year and the stipends paid for assisting new teachers. The mentor teachers and the new teacher the mentors are assigned to are listed on a staff memo prepared by Laurie Bruton, director of curriculum for the school district.

Black said after the closed session, the board returned to open session to consider the four items. The facilitator agreements for Hofmeister and Clifton were approved 4-0. The agreement with Peavy 3-1 with Trustee Larry Poland voting no. The mentor teachers item died for lack of a motion and second.

The personnel exception in the Brown Act is to avoid undue embarrassment of public employees, Newton explained. But only specific items can be discussed behind closed doors under the act. Black does not attend closed sessions, but agreed that the items pulled for discussion didn’t qualify under the personnel exemption.

Carole Ferraud, district superintendent, said only two of the four items were discussed in closed session, the item regarding Peavy and the mentor teacher item. She said it’s her guess that Turney didn’t want to single anyone out, so he pulled all four items. Ferraud said she would speak to Turney about the action. However, Ferraud said the two items that were discussed fall under the personnel exemption.

Ferraud also said she has asked Black to check with legal counsel about the blanket listing for personnel items. The Grizzly asked Ferraud to also check with the district’s legal counsel about bringing the four items back at a future meeting for discussion and action in open session to cure the possible Brown Act violation.

Contact Judi Bowers at 909-866-3456, ext. 137 or by e-mail at jbowers@bigbeargrizzly.net.


School board actions violate Brown Act


By JUDI BOWERS

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:35 PM PDT



Editor

On Sept. 5, the Bear Valley Unified School District board meeting was delayed waiting for a board member to arrive. When president Ken Turney pounded the gavel and called for the meeting to begin, he made some changes to the agenda. Those changes may have violated the Brown Act.

Turney announced that four items on the open session of the Sept. 5 meeting were being moved until after the board met in closed session. The items weren’t listed on the closed session agenda. Nothing but an unnamed pending litigation case that’s been on the agenda for months was listed.

The Ralph M. Brown Act is a state law that is often called the open meeting law. It assures the public that government does its business openly and not behind closed doors. The Act requires things such as agendas, and posting the agenda and meeting notices 72 hours before the regular meeting. The Act requires the agenda to list items for discussion and action, and allows for the public to comment on items on the agenda among other things.

Closed sessions are allowed for certain discussion and action items, but those items must be disclosed on the posted agenda.


Turney, when he adjourned the open session portion of the Sept. 5 meeting, said, “We do have need for a closed session, and there will be action taken.”

The school board’s agenda has a standard item that appears on every school board agenda: Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release/Reassignment/Transfer/Appointment Request. There were no specifics listed under this heading Sept. 5. Shelley Black, school board administrative secretary and secretary to the board, said the district’s legal counsel advised the district to put that on the agenda years ago. Black said it allows the board to enter into closed session if a serious employee issue arises after the agenda is posted.

According to Tom Newton, attorney for California Newspaper Publishers Association, the blanket public employee listing isn’t legal. The Brown Act was amended in 1994 to prevent government bodies from using a generic and intentionally vague summary item on agendas as a way to retreat behind closed doors without a specific item for discussion. If an agency covered by the Brown Act has a specific need for a closed session, it should be listed, Newton said.

The four items pulled from the open session of the Sept. 5 school board meeting dealt with facilitator agreements and mentor stipends. The first item was a facilitator agreement with Johanna Hofmeister for training she will provide the district’s certificated personnel.

The second item is a facilitator agreement with Elena Peavy. Peavy’s contract is for part-time counseling services at Big Bear Middle School for the 2007-08 school year per the Middle School Supplemental Counseling Program.

The third facilitator agreement pulled for discussion and action in closed session by the school board is an agreement with Mike Clifton to provide support and training for Big Bear High School coaches for the 2007-08 school year.



Hofmeister, Peavy and Clifton are former employees of the Bear Valley Unified School District, but are not considered current employees. Newton said in each case, the contract or facilitator agreements should have been discussed in open session. A government agency can go into closed session to discuss public employees or officers including individuals who function as an employee, Newton said. In this case, Peavy could be considered functioning as an employee, but the item should have been listed under closed session, Newton said.

The fourth item pulled for discussion and action, did have to do with employees. It asked the board to approve on site mentor teachers for the current school year and the stipends paid for assisting new teachers. The mentor teachers and the new teacher the mentors are assigned to are listed on a staff memo prepared by Laurie Bruton, director of curriculum for the school district.

Black said after the closed session, the board returned to open session to consider the four items. The facilitator agreements for Hofmeister and Clifton were approved 4-0. The agreement with Peavy 3-1 with Trustee Larry Poland voting no. The mentor teachers item died for lack of a motion and second.

The personnel exception in the Brown Act is to avoid undue embarrassment of public employees, Newton explained. But only specific items can be discussed behind closed doors under the act. Black does not attend closed sessions, but agreed that the items pulled for discussion didn’t qualify under the personnel exemption.

Carole Ferraud, district superintendent, said only two of the four items were discussed in closed session, the item regarding Peavy and the mentor teacher item. She said it’s her guess that Turney didn’t want to single anyone out, so he pulled all four items. Ferraud said she would speak to Turney about the action. However, Ferraud said the two items that were discussed fall under the personnel exemption.

Ferraud also said she has asked Black to check with legal counsel about the blanket listing for personnel items. The Grizzly asked Ferraud to also check with the district’s legal counsel about bringing the four items back at a future meeting for discussion and action in open session to cure the possible Brown Act violation.

Contact Judi Bowers at 909-866-3456, ext. 137 or by e-mail at jbowers@bigbeargrizzly.net.