Friday, May 29, 2015

[San Diego County] Report: School board controls needed


Grand jury examines trustee’s meddling in son’s school


San Diego — After investigating claims that a San Diego school board member forced personnel changes and meddled in staff decisions at the campus attended by the trustee’s child last year, the county grand jury has called on the district to strengthen ethics and conduct rules.
In a report issued last week, the grand jury found the San Diego Unified School District’s conduct code, conflict-of-interest policy, and governance manual are “not sufficient to prevent trustees from exerting undue influence in matters involving a particular school within their district.”
The grand jury did not identify any trustee or campus, but the findings match a San Diego Union-Tribune report from August 2014 that details accusations that trustee Marne Foster used her political influence to resolve a personal matter at the School of Creative and Performing Arts, where her son graduated last year.
The principal was put on leave and others were reassigned or disciplined before a $250,000 legal claim was filed against the district (by the father of Foster’s son) over a negative assessment of the Foster boy that was included in his college applications. The legal claim alleged that a counselor’s “willfully damaging” review of the boy resulted in lost financial aid and rejections from top universities.
Now board president, Foster did not return phone calls for comment on Friday.
Superintendent Cindy Marten said the district would respond to the report but did not anticipate any need for changes because policies already call for campus personnel decisions to be made by the administration, not the school board.
“We have clear board governance policies,” Marten said. “I’ve been very clear with the board. The board is clear that it sets policies and the superintendent carries out policies. We are very consistent.”
The grand jury launched an investigation after receiving a complaint that “certain staff at a school may have been adversely impacted by the conduct of a trustee, which raised concern of undue influence concerning a particular student at the school.” The investigation included interviews with current and former trustees, administrators, teachers, counselors and other employees, as well as the review of documents and emails.
The jurors, who serve a civic accountability function, recommended the board and superintendent adopt a series of new policies and workshops to address any breaches — real or perceived — by establishing: a code of conduct and conflict-of-interest statement for trustees; annual ethics training for trustees; workshops for school employees addressing appropriate conduct when a trustee or administrator is also the parent of a student; and an independent ethics panel to monitor board actions.
“The district leadership needs to set higher standards for trustees,” the jurors said in the report. “Trustees must be held accountable for improper acts and the perception of impropriety.”
School employees told the grand jury that the Common Application School Report, a widely used confidential and universal college application, of the student in question was improperly leaked to the trustee and parent. The application included a negative review of the student, which was eventually modified by another employee without justification, the grand jury report said.
May 25, 2015
The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Maureen Magee

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