SD school board trustee under criminal investigation
Blog note: this article references a May 2015
San Diego County Grand Jury report recommending that the San Diego Unified
School District strengthen its ethics and conduct rules for trustees. This is
one of the rare—but important—instances where the results of a civil grand
jury investigation have led to a criminal investigation.
The San Diego Unified School District was
served a warrant Thursday from the District Attorney’s Office for a criminal
investigation into trustee Marne Foster — two days after her controversial term
as board president came to a close.
“We are directing our staff to cooperate with
the investigation,” said Andra Donovan, general counsel for San Diego Unified.
Since the warrant is sealed for 10 days, it’s
not publicly known exactly what the case entails, but San Diego Unified said
the District Attorney’s Office is “seeking information relevant to a criminal
investigation they are conducting into the conduct of” Foster.
The school district already had been
conducting its own investigation into allegations that Foster was secretly
behind a $250,000 claim filed last year against the district — which it
rejected — accusing the School of Creative and Performing Arts of sabotaging
Foster’s son’s college plans.
When The San Diego Union-Tribune first
reported last year that a claim had been filed against the district by John
Marsh, the father of Foster’s son, the trustee said she had no part in the
complaint.
Since then, Marsh told the Voice of San Diego
that Foster pressured him to sign a blank claim form that she later filled out
and submitted.
Marsh also told the online news organization
that Foster used his email account and posed as him in responding to questions
from the Union-Tribune.
The school district investigation also was
looking into a fundraiser Foster held in July — attended by district officials
and contractors — to help raise money to cover college costs for two of her
sons.
Organizers of the “Brothers 2 College” benefit
failed to properly register the event — and a prize drawing that was held —
with the state. Participants paid $25 at the door or $20 in advance to attend
the event at the Neighborhood House Association headquarters, which has a
contract with the district. Among the attendees were district employees,
trustee John Lee Evans, and San Diego teachers union President Lindsay
Burningham.
Following questions about
conflicts-of-interest regarding the event, Foster later apologized and promised
to return some of the donations.
San Diego Unified announced Thursday it
suspended its long-delayed investigation into Foster’s alleged improprieties,
which was commissioned Sept. 29 and launched Oct. 2 as a “30-day independent
investigation” that would cost no more than $40,000.
“We can’t parallel the DA investigation with
our own investigation because it might interfere. We will take a step back and
let them do their job,” Donovan said.
In order to serve a warrant, a judge must
agree that there is probable cause that a crime has been committed, according to
legal experts.
But Donovan said the warrant was required to
obtain records that would otherwise be protected under the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and which could not be released except
pursuant to warrant or subpoena. A subpoena cannot be issued unless charges
have been filed or a grand jury is convened, neither of which is required for a
warrant, she said.
Foster did not respond to a request for
comment.
Neither did Michael McQuary, who was elected
board president by trustees during the annual reorganization of officers on
Tuesday. The District Attorney’s Office also declined to comment.
Foster also has been accused of forcing the
district administration to suspend a counselor and reassign the principal at
her son’s school over an unflattering college assessment of Foster’s son. After
Foster obtained a copy of the confidential letter — which was included in the
common college application — it was replaced with a more-flattering assessment
written by another counselor. According to the Foster family’s unsuccessful
legal claim, the college assessment resulted in the loss of scholarships and
financial aid.
Earlier this year, San Diego Unified released
documents and emails intended to explain the personnel decisions that were
handed down at the popular magnet school.
Superintendent Cindy Marten has said Foster
had a history of attempting to meddle in personnel issues. She went on to say
that although Foster called attention to issues at her son’s school, the
personnel decisions were not made because of the trustee. Marten said problems
at the school had been on the district’s radar going back months, even
predating her being named superintendent.
Kim Abagat, the counselor who was suspended
without pay for nine days over the college letter, accused the district of
retaliation and discrimination in a legal claim filed with the district Nov.
24. The pending complaint, which seeks in excess of $10,000 in damages, is the
necessary precursor to a lawsuit.
Attorney Dan Gilleon, who represents Abagat,
said the DA’s case could benefit his client if it forces the district “to be
more transparent.”
“If Marne Foster is convicted of a crime, her
veracity would be called into question in trial,” he said. “That would help my
case.”
Donovan said the district will fully comply
with all requests made by the DA.
“We believe it is incumbent upon San Diego
Unified to cooperate fully with the District Attorney’s Office and to avoid
interfering with that investigation,” she said.
A month after Foster held the benefit to raise
money for college tuition and debt for her sons, San Diego Unified responded in
August to a May county grand jury report that called for the district to
strengthen its ethics and conduct rules for trustees. The district said it
would be taking no action.
The grand jury found the 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 an August 2014 report in the Union-Tribune,
detailing accusations that Foster wielded her political influence to make the
personnel changes at her son’s school.
Foster is up for re-election next year. She
has a loyal base of supporters who have rallied behind her through the
allegations. Foster was presented with a bouquet of pink roses from a supporter
on Tuesday as she passed the gavel to McQuary.
December 10, 2015
The
San Diego Union-Tribune
By Maureen Magee
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