FUHSD reviews district ops, whistle-blowing procedures

The Fallbrook Union High School District board of trustees has agreed to comply with the California School Board Association’s (CSBA) request to review its district operations and whistle blowing procedures.

At the board’s December 13 meeting, district superintendent Dale Mitchell presented a report on the transparency of the district’s operations.

Board member Bill O’Connor had requested that the board publically view its processes and procedures, as a way to provide the public with the information. It was hoped by the district that the action would “cultivate and coordinate dialogue among members of the The Fallbrook Union High School District board of trustees has agreed to comply with the California School Board Association’s (CSBA) request to review its district operations and whistle blowing procedures.

At the board’s December 13 meeting, district superintendent Dale Mitchell presented a report on the transparency of the district’s operations.

Board member Bill O’Connor had requested that the board publically view its processes and procedures, as a way to provide the public with the information. It was hoped by the district that the action would “cultivate and coordinate dialogue among members of the learning community for the purpose of maintaining an environment of open communication, trust, mutual respect and integrity,” according to the board meeting agenda.

“The reason I called for the information was because the CSBA, which is the state’s umbrella organization for schools, had an incident with its executive director. Somehow, he was able to not be as frank as he should have been with the board, and the board was left with less information than what was needed.”

According to reports, Scott Plotkin, the CSBA director stepped down in July after an investigation into his salary, pay increases and questionable use of a CSBA credit card.

“Funds were used in various ways that the CSBA board was not made aware of,” stated O’Connor. “The executive director was asked to leave, and he gave up his position. The president of the association then had meeting in the San Diego County Office of education, and asked school districts to review their whistle-blowing procedures.”

Presently, there are not any discrepancies in the way that the FUHSD has handled moneys, said O’Connor.

“I think it’s a matter of just being aware of how we spend our money, the procedures we use, and the accounting we have in place,” he said. “I think we are more open than prior boards in the district have been. During discussions we have, I think we are more open to listen to each other.”

O’Connor also mentioned that because of the Brown Act, the board cannot discuss all district matters openly at will.

“In some cases, it can be difficult to know what the board’s views are,” he said. “We don’t have frank discussions about agenda items unless we are at the board meetings. We can’t discuss the information informally, though in some cases it is not a bad idea. The concern is that we might make decisions prior to board meetings, and we cannot do that.”

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