Alleging a lack of transparency and violations of state law, the parents of a first grader are suing Orange Unified School District and its school board.
Alexander and Sarah Brewsaugh, both attorneys, allege the school board majority violated California’s Brown Act law when it fired Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen, placed another administrator on paid leave and appointed an interim superintendent during a special meeting on Jan. 5.
The school board “majority had a pre-planned outcome before the meeting began,” the lawsuit alleges.
Officials had not yet seen the lawsuit, a school district spokesperson said when reached Monday afternoon, March 27. The claim was filed in Orange County Superior Court on March 13 and served to an attorney for the school district on March 27.
On Jan. 4, board President Rick Ledesma called for a special meeting to be held the following day. The Jan. 5 agenda featured a closed session to evaluate the performance of Hansen, to discipline or dismiss two employees and to appoint an interim superintendent and an acting assistant superintendent for educational services.
Despite the short notice, the room was packed during that meeting. More than 50 speakers spoke against the board’s move while one parent spoke in support of the board.
Board members split 4-3 to fire Hansen and place Cathleen Corella, the assistant superintendent, on administrative leave.
The board majority took actions “orchestrated with an intent to keep interested members of the public, and even dissenting Board members, in the dark,” the lawsuit alleges.
California’s Ralph M. Brown Act open meeting law ensures the public’s right to know what actions their representatives are considering taking before they take them: “It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly,” the law says.
Included as an exhibit in the lawsuit is an email procured from public records requests that the…
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