Officials with San Jose's biggest school district denied charges they improperly hired lobbying firms to push a teacher housing proposal.
Blog note: This article
refers to a Santa Clara County grand jury report
Officials
with San Jose's biggest school district denied charges they improperly hired
lobbying firms to push a teacher housing proposal—saying that at least one of
the firms never lobbied for them at all, despite meeting with officials who
would approve the plans.
The allegations stem
from a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report released late last year. The
report found that San Jose Unified School District failed to disclose conflicts
of interests and lobbying contracts related to a proposal to build affordable
housing for teachers and staff.
In
a special meeting on Tuesday, the school district's board rejected concerns
that the contracts with two different firms working on the housing project had
been inappropriate. But it agreed to provide more transparency around such
agreements in the future.
Lobbying?
The
firms that worked on the project are Schoennauer Company, LLC, a registered
lobbyist with the city with experience in land-use law, and Snider Consulting.
"The
contract we hired (Schoennauer) for, they were not lobbying," said SJUSD
board president Brian Wheatley. "They were helping us navigate all the
various rules and regulations both with the city and the county because we are
educators."
A
report from district staff said the grand jury's report was based on
"unfounded opinion and irrelevant" and that some grand jury members
"were fiery and appeared self-interested in reaching a specific
outcome."
Schoennauer
partner Erik Schoennauer met with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo on at least two
occasions to discuss the affordable housing project. Schoennauer, however, said
he didn't lobby for the project during the meetings. Rather, he said, he met
with Liccardo to ensure transparency between the city and district about the
project.
The
grand jury wanted to question how communication happened. The fact is, the
district wants lots of communication to work in partnership with the city and
community to develop staff housing," Schoennauer said.
The
report also accused Snider Consulting founder Kelly Snider of not disclosing
that her home sits yards away from a finalist site for the housing project.
Snider and the district did not believe her house's proximity to a potential
site was a conflict of interest and didn't believe that it had to be disclosed.
Along
with the district, she said the grand jury report focused too much on how the
district was communicating with the community instead of analyzing the
affordable housing project.
The
grand jury also found problems with the district's lobbying at the state level.
In 2019, the district hired Ball/Frost Group, LLC, a Sacramento-based advocacy
and legislative policy firm, according to the report. But the contract it
signed with Ball/Frost wasn't made readily available to the public, and the
district didn't clearly and fully disclose the work Ball/Frost was doing, the
report found.
A
Ball/Frost representative declined to comment.
Homes for teachers
The
district believes the affordable housing project is needed, as teachers and
staff have repeatedly told the public they are having difficulty buying a home
in the high-price area.
The
district is considering several sites in the area. Early discussions involved
closing either Leland High School or Bret Harte Middle School to build housing,
with each location hosting 75 to 325 units.
The
project received considerable pushback from some residents concerned that it
would decrease property values, and increase traffic and endanger pedestrians
in the neighborhood. Opponents also believe it would cost taxpayers too much.
"My
issue from the very beginning has been just a complete lack of professionalism
in the handling of this and a continuous pattern of deception and lack of
transparency," said Tobin Gilman, a parent of two former district
students, who claimed the project made "no financial sense at all."
The
project has been largely put on hold as the district focuses on returning to
in-person learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to city officials.
According to the project's website, teachers would be able to move into the
affordable housing in three to five years.
Patch.com
San Jose Spotlight
Lloyd Alaban
March 10, 2021
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