–The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees met for four hours Saturday morning to craft a response to the San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury Report. The report, “Paso Robles School District: A Cautionary Tale”, criticizes the previous board for financial mismanagement during the tenure of former Superintendent Chris Williams and his board of trustees.
The
board agreed 5-1 to hire independent legal counsel to help craft its response.
Board President Chris Arend voted no, Trustee Lance Gannon did not attend the
meeting. Two former board members called in to the meeting to address their
actions while serving on the board. Joel Peterson and Joan Summers called into
the special meeting to defend the actions of the previous board.
The
board then went point-by-point through PRJUSD Board President Chris Arend’s
draft response to Grand Jury Presiding Judge Jacquelyn H. Duffy. Their
discussion included issues such as conflicts of interest, nepotism, and
cronyism, which the Grand Jury said in their report led to teacher morale
issues which were documented in two union-sponsored surveys. The current board
questioned two trustees who served during that time: Chris Bausch and Tim
Gearhart. Those two reflected on the consensus of the board during the years
between 2014 and 2018 to help the current board formulate a response to the
grand jury.
One
of the more serious issues was the $235,000 severance pay awarded to Williams
when he resigned. The grand jury wrote, “The superintendent was not eligible
for a severance package when he resigned. However, the board extended a
negotiated settlement without obligation to do so.” The board discussed Arend’s
draft response to the Grand Jury’s statement. Arend reminded trustees during the
meeting that he took part in a later meeting with Williams and his attorney
which resulted in a “claw-back” almost half of that money.
The
board agreed with most of the findings of the grand jury, but disagreed
partially with some. The discussion proceeded slowly, and ended at 12:15 p.m.
The board agreed to meet Tuesday, Feb. 2nd at 4 p.m. to continue the discussion
of the report, so they can send a response back to the Grand Jury, which is
required by mid-February.
Paso
Robles News
by News Staff
January 31, 2021
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