November 5, 2009
By Maritza Velazquez
WEST COVINA – An advocate for open government believes the West Covina School District has violated state open-government laws several times.
In a letter addressed to Superintendent Liliam Leis-Castillo and the district’s school board members, activist Richard McKee accused the district of failing to provide accurate, specific information on agendas.
McKee, who lives in La Verne, is the director of Californians Aware, an open-government advocacy group.
Leis-Castillo said the district will seek more details about the alleged violations listed in the complaint.
“It’s one of those things that our legal counsel is looking at,” she said Thursday.
The district will respond within the next two weeks, she said.
McKee accused the district of violating the Ralph M. Brown Act, a series of laws that mandate government transparency.
In his letter, McKee accuses the district of failing to say where board meetings are held, failing to convene in open session prior to closed session and not reporting action taken in closed session.
McKee also criticized the district for putting vague information about personnel matters on every meeting agenda but never reporting what action was proposed or taken.
“This is the first step in what could be a Brown Act lawsuit against the board,” McKee said.
According to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Snyder, she has not received a complaint.
“We only open investigations based on complaints we receive from members from the public, and we have not to date received such a complaint,” Snyder said.
Steve Cox, a West Covina Unified school board member, said the governing body has conducted meetings in the same fashion for the 15 years he’s been on the board.
“If what he says is true, I’m sure the changes are easy enough to make and we certainly want to be in compliance of the Brown Act,” Cox said.