Ventura County Grand Jury
• 2020-2021
Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education Procedures
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 15 findings
F01
The Grand Jury finds that during the December 17, 2019 Board meeting, the Superintendent made assertions of harassment by a Board member that were not on the agenda, thereby violating the Brown Act.
F02
The Grand Jury finds that the Board failed to include the facts or circumstances regarding the Board’s possible exposure to litigation arising from the Superintendent’s assertions of harassment by a Board member 8 CVUSD Board Procedures in Item 1.D of the agenda for the January 21, 2020 closed session, or publicly announce them at the meeting, thereby violating the Brown Act.
F03
The Grand Jury finds that the Board failed to include the facts or circumstances regarding the Board’s possible exposure to litigation arising from the Superintendent’s assertions of harassment by a Board member in Item 1.G of the agenda for the February 4, 2020 closed session, or publicly announce them at the meeting, thereby violating the Brown Act.
F04
The Grand Jury finds that the Board discussed the issue of excluding a Board member from an agenda item discussion at both the January 21, 2020 closed session and the February 4, 2020 closed session. That discussion regarding excluding a member was not on either agenda, thereby violating the Brown Act.
F05
The Grand Jury finds that the discussions of excluding a Board member from the January 21, 2020 and February 4, 2020 closed sessions were not a permissible exception from the open meeting requirements, thereby violating the Brown Act.
F06
The Grand Jury finds no evidence that the Brown Act violations outlined in
F07
The Grand Jury finds that there was a pattern of Brown Act violations by the Board during the period of 2018 through 2020.
F08
The Grand Jury finds that the Brown Act training/workshops/conferences attended by the Board and Superintendent between 2018 and 2020 were insufficient to allow the Board to fully understand the Brown Act.
F09
The Grand Jury finds that the Board and Superintendent would benefit from mandatory Brown Act training focused on how to avoid discussing topics not on the published agenda, the narrowness of the exceptions to open meetings, and the requirements for closed session agendas.
F10
The Grand Jury finds that the additional training outlined in F-09 is most beneficial when given annually to the entire Board, and repeated when new members join the Board.
F11
The Grand Jury finds that the Board and Superintendent would benefit from reviewing the Brown Act resources found on the California Attorney General’s Open Meetings website (https://oag.ca.gov/open-meetings).
F12
The Grand Jury finds that the Board bylaws do not identify the parliamentary procedures that the President of the Board is charged with enforcing. CVUSD Board Procedures 9
F13
The Grand Jury finds that, without defined parliamentary procedures, the manner of the Board’s deliberations is dependent on who is chairing the meeting.
F14
The Grand Jury finds the Board bylaws allow the Board to develop and adopt procedures governing Board operations by a majority vote.
F15
The Grand Jury finds that Section 4 of the Board Handbook reference to Robert’s Rules of Order does not constitute Board Policy. RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations 6
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R01The Grand Jury recommends that the Board and the Superintendent undergo mandatory Brown Act training that includes topics focused on how to avoid discussing topics not on the published agenda, the narrowness of the exceptions to open meetings, and the requirements for closed session agendas. (F-01, F-02, F-03, F-04, F-05, F-06, F-07, F-08,
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R02The Grand Jury recommends that the training referred to in R-01 be given annually to the entire Board, and repeated when new members join the Board. (F-01, F-02, F-03, F-04, F-05, F-06, F-07, F-08, F-09, F-10)
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R03The Grand Jury recommends that the Board members and Superintendent periodically review the Brown Act resources found on the California Attorney General’s Open Meetings website (https://oag.ca.gov/open- meetings). (F-01, F-02, F-03, F-04, F-05, F-06, F-07, F-11)
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R04The Grand Jury recommends that the Board adopt written parliamentary procedures, either directly or by reference, by which it will be governed. (F-12, F-13, F-14, F-15)
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R05The Grand Jury recommends that, upon the adoption of such procedures, the Board undergo additional training. (F-12, F-13, F-14, F-15)
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R06The Grand Jury recommends that each time a new member is elected to the Board, the training referred to in R-05 be repeated for all members. (F-12, F-13, F-14, F-15) 10 CVUSD Board Procedures RESPONSES Responses required from: The following governing body : Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education (F-01, F-02, F-03, F-04,