Public Is Ousted From School Board Meeting

Trustee President Pam Sturgeon ejected all members of the public from a board meeting of the Centinela Valley Union High School District this week after a dispute with several community activists over their right to speak about a proposed consultant’s contract.

The argument was sparked when board members refused to let the activists comment on the contract, saying it was not on the agenda. The activists, however, insisted the item was on the agenda, and they accused the board of being deceitful.

In fact, the contract was on the agenda of the Tuesday night meeting. Sturgeon later said she and other board members had become confused because the activists had misidentified the item on slips they must fill out to address the board.

But Sturgeon discounted the activists’ claims that the board closed the meeting to avoid hearing what they had to say about the contract. Instead, she said it was the activists’ demeanor that prompted her to clear the board room.

“They were screaming from the audience; they had not been given the podium, and they were just sitting out there yelling,” Sturgeon said Thursday.

Immediately after the public was cleared from the meeting, the trustees unanimously approved the contract, which will pay for a consultant to investigate the residency status of students at Hawthorne and Leuzinger high schools.

The activists say they object to the expense of the contract, which pays the consultant, Donald Dunn, $100 a day. They also expressed concern that the investigation will unfairly target black and Latino students.