The Orange County District Attorney’s office determined the Orange Unified Board of Education did not violate California’s open meeting laws when it voted to fire its superintendent in January—though one trustee was found in violation of the rules for disclosing closed session information to the media.
The DA launched a two-month investigation into multiple complaints—filed by parents and community members—that the board violated the Brown Act when the majority voted to fire the district’s superintendent on Jan. 5 in a special meeting called one day in advance.
The Brown Act is a California law that guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in local legislative body meetings and requires governing boards post regular meeting agendas 72 hours in advance and 24 hours for special meetings.
The complaints alleged the meeting was held with improper notice, the meeting agenda was deficient, that the board had engaged in an unlawful meeting in advance of the January meeting, and that Trustee Kris Erickson, who voted against the termination, improperly disclosed information from a closed session to the Orange County Register.
In two April letters obtained by The Epoch Times, Steven Schriver, senior deputy district attorney, said the investigation found the allegations “unsubstantiated”—save for the allegation against Erickson.
In the first letter, Schriver said the board posted notice of the special meeting 24 hours in advance, and that the agenda “identified and described” the meeting topic in compliance with the law.
Additionally, he said he found no evidence to support allegations that those who voted in favor of the termination met privately to discuss the vote prior to the meeting.
In the second letter, Schriver stated his investigation found evidence that Erickson violated the Brown Act by disclosing information discussed during a closed session.
“In a vacuum, the information disclosed by Trustee Erickson may appear benign or inconsequential; however, the breach of confidentiality could subsequently deter Trustees from speaking with the candor necessary for honest debate, and in turn affect their ability to safeguard and represent the public’s best interests,” his letter stated.
Schriver’s letters did not disclose the specific information which Erickson leaked to the press.
Erickson did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Schriver requested the entire board take a “refresher training” on the Brown Act.
Trustee Madison Miner told The Epoch Times she wasn’t surprised by the results of the investigation.
“I’m grateful for the time that the DA spent on it and that it was a thorough investigation,“ she said. ”I’m pleased but not surprised at the findings.”
Miner said she found it “ironic” that Erickson, an attorney, was in violation of such laws.
“As a lawyer, you'd think that [Erickson] would have been more cognizant of Brown Act violations,” Miner said.
Robert Hammond, an Orange Unified parent, former educator, and former president of the OC Board of Education, said he was disappointed to hear of Erickson’s conduct.
“As a former schoolteacher and board leader, this is not what we stand for,” Hammond told the Epoch Times.
The District Attorney’s findings follow months of division over district leadership, which began in early January when the board’s conservative majority voted to fire its longtime superintendent, Gunn Marie Hansen, and place assistant superintendent Cathleen Corella on leave pending an academic audit.
Shortly after, Velasquez, a retired educator who previously served as interim superintendent for San Diego Unified School District, was appointed in the same role by the board majority.
However, Velasquez only held the position for a little over a month before he resigned on Feb. 15.
In early March, the board unanimously appointed one of its existing assistant superintendents, Ernie Gonzalez, as acting superintendent.
Trustees Ledesma, John Ortega, Angie Rumsey, Ana Page, and Andrea Yamasaki did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
