Orange Unified School Board members did not, as a group, violate California’s open meeting laws during a special session in January when it ousted the superintendent, concluded the Orange County District Attorney’s office following a two-month investigation.
But there is “significant evidence” that one trustee, Kristin Erickson, violated the Ralph M. Brown Act by disclosing confidential information from the board’s closed-door session to the Orange County Register, according to letters sent earlier this month from the District Attorney’s office to Erickson and Spencer Covert, Orange Unified’s attorney.
The district attorney requested the entire board undergo “refresher training” on the Brown Act.
In the April 6 letters, Steven Schriver, senior deputy district attorney, disclosed an investigation in response to complaints about a special Jan. 5 school board meeting.
Board President Rick Ledesma had called that meeting a day earlier during winter break, a time when many students and teachers were on vacation. That night, on a 4-3 vote, the board fired Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and placed a second administrator, Cathleen Corella, on administrative leave. Both Hansen and Corella were out of the country at the time.
Although the meeting was posted with only 24 hours’ notice, word had spread among teachers and parents who packed the room to decry the board’s actions. In subsequent meetings, many complained of backroom deals and noted that Ledesma had told two educators the day before the meeting that they would be appointed to replace Hansen and Corella.
Since, parents have filed two separate lawsuits accusing the board majority of orchestrating the disciplinary actions while keeping other members of the board — and the public — in the dark.
Schriver said the board met the Brown Act requirements of posting the special meeting with 24 hours’ notice. He said the agenda “identified and described” the topic at hand in…
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