By Staff Reporter |
Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) violated the law with its school closure and consolidation committee, but the county attorney says it’s too late to stop them.
The complaint was filed originally with Attorney General Kris Mayes back in April, claiming that SUSD’s Phase II Design Advisory Team, an advisory committee responsible for coming up with school closure and consolidation options, violated Open Meeting Law because it prohibited the public from attending meetings.
Mayes waited nearly three months to refer the complaint to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO); she cited a conflict of interest as the basis for not taking on the investigation herself.
MCAO told AZ Free News that Mayes didn’t refer the complaint to their office until July 17.
By then, SUSD’s Phase II Design Advisory Team had held all five of its Phase A meetings and three out of five of its Phase B meetings. The final meeting for this illicit advisory committee occurred on August 17.
Since all of the meetings have already occurred, MCAO Deputy County Attorney Caitlyn Mitchell said in a disposition letter on Tuesday that nothing could be done beyond recommending to SUSD that they not recommit a similar Open Meeting Law violation in the future and acknowledge their wrongdoing at the special meeting scheduled to occur that day.
“[I]t is too late to require SUSD to take corrective action concerning future Phase II Team meetings,” stated Mitchell. “MCAO has informed SUSD of its findings and conclusions, recommended that SUSD revise its future use of superintendent appointed committees, and requested that the SUSD Governing Board acknowledge the results of this investigation publicly at the open meeting to discuss the Phase II Team’s recommendations.”
Arizona law requires any legal action taken in a meeting that violates Open Meeting Law to be rendered null and void, unless ratification occurs under certain parameters during a public meeting within 30 days of discovery of the violation.
Non-public advisory committees have been a recurring problem for SUSD. Mayes has previously found SUSD in violation of Open Meeting Law for its use of non-public advisory committees.
During the SUSD special meeting on Tuesday, the governing board didn’t advise the public of the MCAO letter or the fact that the advisory committee responsible for creating the school closure and consolidation options had been conducted in violation of the law. It also stopped the community from making any mention of the letter.
Mike Bengert, the community member who filed the complaint, attempted to speak about the disposition letter during public comment, but Governing Board President Donna Lewis interrupted him.
SUSD counsel Renee Osipov told Bengert that he could only talk about the proposed options for school closures and consolidations.
“We’re not talking about Open Meeting Law. That’s not what we’re agendized to do,” said Osipov.
Lewis had advised at the beginning of the special meeting that public comments not addressing school closure and consolidation options were only permitted for the next meeting scheduled for October 6 — the day that SUSD is anticipated to vote on school closures.
During Tuesday’s meeting, public comment on the school closure and consolidation options lasted more than three hours.
The Phase II Design Advisory Team operated as part of three phases to close, consolidate, and repurpose schools within the district. Phase III has another non-public advisory committee: the Coronado Learning Community committee.
Bengert told AZ Free News that he filed a new Open Meeting Law complaint over Tuesday’s special meeting.
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