The Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board of Education has experienced a leadership shakeup—or at least a reshuffle.
District Superintendent Phil Alvarado started the Dec. 8 school board meeting by swearing in incumbent Bruno Brunello and newcomer Will Smith, who beat out longtime board member Jody Oliver in the November election. That victory, however, is receiving sharp criticism from the district.
In a prepared statement disseminated at the meeting, the district said, “it respects the vote of the people, but believes that openness and transparency require that the public be aware of [a] conflict of interest between [Mr. Smith’s] role as a board member and his role as a district employee.”
According to the district, Smith shouldn’t be able to serve on the board because he’s still on the district’s payroll. California Education Code states a district employee can’t lawfully be sworn in as an elected or appointed school board member.
The district strongly believes Smith is unfit to serve on the board for other reasons, too.
In 2009, the district initiated dismissal proceedings against Smith—then a teacher at Arellanes Junior High School—because of multiple unpaid disciplinary suspensions. The district moved to terminate Smith based on a report compiled by a third-party arbitrator, which alleged Smith verbally and physically abused his students.
According to the report, Smith forced some of his students to run laps and do pushups as a form of punishment. One student testified that when he tried to leave the classroom, Smith physically blocked the doorway and pushed him. When the student tried to reach out to school administrators, Smith allegedly intimidated and threatened him. The several-thousand-page report lists other allegations, such as harassment of district employees and inappropriate use of district computers.
Smith contested the report and his dismissal. He told the Sun the school board and other district administrators were targeting him unfairly. He also claimed the board misled the third-party arbitrator by withholding evidence and barring him from participating in the investigation.
The case went to an educational appeals court in Los Angeles and ended with a settlement agreement between Smith and the district. Smith agreed to resign from the district, but continues to receive settlement payments.Those payments, according to the district, keep Smith on the district payroll and create a conflict of interest.
District spokeswoman Maggie White said the district repeatedly asked Smith to either withdraw from his position on the school board or forfeit his settlement payments.
“He had ample time to respond—to act—but he hasn’t,” she said.
Earlier this month, the district took Smith to court over the matter, but Judge Art Garcia said that the case fell under state education law. Garcia also said responsibility for any legal repercussions from the conflict of interest would fall solely on Smith’s shoulders.
Smith said at the Dec. 8 meeting that he automatically resigned from the district payroll when he was sworn in as a board member.
“Student success academically is my main focus,” he said.
However, the board’s newly appointed president, Ike Ochoa—who was on the board when Smith was disciplined—seemed to disagree.
“Government is a trust. In Santa Maria, the will of the public has given us a new trustee. I will respect the will of the people, but I believe the voters were misled in regards to who Mr. Smith is,” Ochoa said. “I believe Mr. Smith was elected under false pretenses, and for proof I encourage people to read the meeting minutes of Sept. 9, 2009 and arbitrator’s report. The facts show Mr. Smith is no good for our children.”
Smith has told the Sun he thinks the board—and Ochoa, specifically—has a personal vendetta against him because he “wants transparency and change.”
Smith also claims the board is doing everything in its power to prevent him from serving the voters and the district. As an example, he referenced a Nov. 18 special meeting during which the board changed its bylaws.
“They’re doing everything they can to protect themselves before I get in there and start shaking things up,” Smith told the Sun.
A copy of the updated bylaws shows that the board voted to insert more references to Roberts’ Rules of Order and other statutes. In particular, no board member is allowed to speak or debate an issue excessively. Individual board members are prohibited from directing or requiring staff members to execute certain tasks on district time; the board must carry a majority vote to access legal documents; and board members must contact school principals before making site visits.
Smith alleges these changes were made to prevent him from acting as a “transparent member” of the school board. The episode in court, he said, “was an attempt to harass and intimidate me into not taking my position.”
Longtime board member Oliver, who lost her seat to Smith in November, also addressed Smith during the public comment period.
“I urge you, sir, to listen to the information that will be shared with you by the many knowledgeable people in our district before you make decisions,” Oliver said.
She told Smith the board offered a great opportunity to better children’s lives, and hoped he would soon prove himself worthy of the position.
Not long after, Oliver was given that same opportunity when the board voted 3-0 to appoint her to replace Craig Beebe, who resigned on Dec. 1 because of a job transfer.
Oliver was backed by several educational organizations, whose members urged the board to consider her for the position.
Smith abstained from voting because he felt there should be a longer selection process so other people in the community could apply. The board overruled him based on the fact that Oliver garnered so many votes in the election.
The board now consists of longtime members Brunello, Oliver, and Ochoa, and newcomers Smith and Linda Cordero. The board selected Cordero to replace Ken Milo, who died in July.
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 16-23, 2010.