Under fire for its past towing activity, the school district here will not refund vehicle fees collected over two fiscal years. Instead, district officials this week offered a restrained but firm rebuff to suggestions school police had acted beyond their authority.
Apple Valley Unified School District school police towed over 700 vehicles between mid-2014 and 2016, pumping nearly $54,000 in fees into the district’s general fund in the process, AVUSD’s attorney previously confirmed.
The enforcement was sharply criticized by a San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury, concluding that school police had no jurisdiction to charge vehicle release fees, “in many cases ... did not have authority to stop, cite and tow vehicles” and operated outside their dominion.
Among a series of recommendations, jurors suggested the school district refund vehicle release fees, a $120 cost borne by the driver before retrieving the vehicle, because such fees may only be charged by a city, county or state agency.
In its formal response to the jury Monday, forwarded to the Daily Press by the district’s legal counsel Tuesday, the district was steadfast that courts have long recognized school districts as agencies of the state, and said the district is also granted broad authority under California Education Code.
“In summary, the District’s vehicle release fee is legally authorized, reasonable, and comparable to fees of other school district police departments,” read the letter, authored by Superintendent Thomas Hoegerman.
Hoegerman, too, questioned the accuracy of the jury’s data on other districts’ tow activity that was ultimately parlayed to paint AVUSD’s as far excessive by comparison.
The district also said it was able to account for all 727 vehicles towed, disputing that more than 500 were inexplicable, after cross-checking with the sole towing company the district used until December (it now rotates three).
District officials also refused another Grand Jury recommendation: to provide restitution for owners whose vehicle was lien sold when it was towed by school police and they couldn’t pay subsequent tow and storage fees.
Based on typical such fees, the amount of refunds could have run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The school district said it would, however, individually examine claims it receives regarding towing and storage fees.
In the official response to the jury, the district sought to define school police jurisdiction — a key interpretation it ultimately believed the jury had mistranslated.
According to the district, its boundaries extend 203 square miles, include 15 campuses and approximately 700 bus stops, providing school police with a wide net in which to oversee vehicle activity that it deems could threaten school safety.
On another point of contention — the issuance of citations seemingly inconsequential to student safety, such as for lacking insurance or not wearing a seat belt — the district offered this explanation: The citations did not reflect the reasons the motorists were stopped.
In fact, vehicles were often stopped, the district claimed, for unsafe driving.
“Without evidence of the specific circumstances that led an officer to stop a motorist and issue a citation, perhaps for the lowest level offense with the lowest fine,” the response said, “the finding that ... officers issued most citations in the absence of an immediate threat to persons or property is unfounded and misleading.”
But the district, on the heels of its own investigation and taking into account the Grand Jury probe, said it has also enacted policy shifts or vowed to make certain changes: Notifications to vehicle owners by school police dispatchers and records clerks will be more robust and unregistered drivers may contact the registered owner to retrieve a vehicle before it’s towed.
The district also said it will seek out vendors within 60 days to provide tow services and then require the companies to maintain computerized records for all vehicles towed at AVUSD’s direction.
September 26, 2017
Victorville Daily Press
Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com.
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