A local school board trustee resigned saying that decisions on administrative transfers made in closed sessions were not reported out as required by the Brown Act. -DB
Marin Independent Journal
May 13, 2009
By Rob Rogers
The Marin County District Attorney’s Office is investigating claims that the Ross Valley School District Board of Trustees violated the state’s open meetings law in a series of closed-door discussions on administrative transfers within the district.
“The district attorney is conducting an investigation on allegations of Brown Act violations,” said Superintendent Bryce Sumnick, who declined to comment further. District Attorney Ed Berberian did not return calls to his office Wednesday.
Concerns over the conduct of the board during its closed-session meetings led Trustee Jeanne Thompson to announce her resignation when the board met last Thursday. Thompson submitted her formal resignation to the Marin County Office of Education this week. The board will hold a special closed-session meeting on administrative reassignments on Friday.
“We had four closed-session meetings regarding administrative reassignments,” said Thompson, 69, a former Ross Valley teacher and school administrator who was elected to the board in 2005. “My concern was that decisions were made and actions were taken in those closed sessions that were not reported out.”
The Ralph M. Brown Act allows California public officials to discuss staff hiring and performance, pending litigation, employee negotiations and real property negotiations during closed sessions.
The law also requires public officials to report action taken in closed session, including who voted and how, “to appoint, employ, dismiss, accept the resignation of, or otherwise affect the employment status of a public employee,” specifying the title of the position and any change in pay.
“The Brown Act is very clear (that reporting applies) not just to a vote, but to anything that is agreed upon by the majority of the board,” said Thompson, who graduated from a 60-hour state-sponsored “master of governance” course after her election to the board.
The Ross Valley district’s round robin of school administrators began with the resignation of White Hill Middle School Principal Michele Patterson on March 26. Since then, the district has announced plans to move White Hill Assistant Principal Nancy Wasserman to the Brookside School, shift Brookside co-principal David Finnane to White Hill and make the district’s Assistant Superintendent Marci Trahan principal of Wade Thomas Elementary. Wade Thomas Principal Chad Carvey would have become assistant principal of the White Hill school as part of the plan, but Carvey chose to resign rather than take part in the transfer.
Thompson would not comment on the reasons for Patterson’s resignation or the flurry of reassignments that followed. But she believes the board’s decision to discuss and make agreements on these issues behind closed doors without reporting its action to the public has led to an erosion of public trust in its actions.
“With each additional closed session on the same topic, the questions in the community continue to grow,” Thompson said. “The public feels that things are being withheld from them, and speculation leads to inaccurate conclusions.”
Thompson has also expressed concern that the board is taking too direct a role in the operation of the district, rather than setting policy guidelines for administrators to follow.
“I firmly believe that the board’s role is to set direction for the district, not to run it,” Thompson said at the board’s meeting last week. “That is the superintendent’s job.”
Sumnick declined to comment on Thompson’s concern, saying she has “a working relationship with the board” and that “we work hard to maintain open communication.” Board President Sharon Sagar did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.
Thompson insists that both the board and the Ross Valley district in general have been meeting the needs of students, faculty and parents. She believes that the board’s current focus on the state’s financial crisis and a surge in enrollment have prevented trustees from taking part in development programs, such as courses on the Brown Act.
“I think it’s healthy to have opposing views on the school board as part of the process of deliberation,” Thompson said. “Hopefully, we’re able to come to the community with the best interests of the district and the children we serve. And for the most part, that is how we have been operating.”
A lifelong resident of Fairfax, Thompson attended Fairfax schools and began her teaching career at the Wade Thomas School in San Anselmo in 1961. She later taught at the Manor and White Hill schools in Fairfax and served as a Ross Valley school administrator, as well as principal of the Neil Cummins School in Larkspur.
Thompson said she planned to stay connected to the district and its schools following her resignation.
“Several people have spoken to me saying they appreciated what I did,” Thompson said, referring to her decision to resign. “I know that not everyone feels that way. Some people have questioned my motives. I’m not going to be withdrawing from the education issues we are facing. We need to do something to make sure that all children receive the education they need and deserve.”
Copyright 2009 Marin Independent Journal