Team to Be Formed to Probe Squabble Over School Files

Selection of a team that will examine allegations that Bellflower schools trustee Peggy Turner improperly used her position to gain entrance to a teacher’s locked office and look at confidential files is expected in the next week.

The California School Board Assn., which represents 96% of the state’s school boards, will select two or more board members from throughout the state, according to Richard Montgomery, director of field services for the association.

The team will conduct a fact-finding probe into an April 11 incident in which Turner said she entered Bellflower High School’s student activities office and looked at a copy of the school’s pep squad constitution. The constitution had been stored in a drawer that also held confidential files on students.

Turner has denied looking at the confidential files. She said she was on campus as a concerned parent.

On May 16, two members of the Bellflower Unified School District board asked to have Turner censured, but the motion failed. The majority of the board voted instead to have the association investigate the incident.

During a special meeting Wednesday, the board asked Montgomery to complete its investigation before June 20, the end of the school term.