ORANGE : Board Disbands New School Committee

In a move that confused the public and infuriated some board members, Orange Unified School District trustees last week reversed a decision made last month to form a committee to study the need for schools in Anaheim Hills.

After heated discussion, trustees voted 4 to 0, with three abstentions, to amend their initial decision. The vote came after Trustee John Hurley revealed that he had sought legal advice and discovered that the June 25 motion to form a committee was not included on the agenda and was thus “improper and illegal.”

Trustees Lila Beavans, Bill Lewis and Alan E. Irish supported Hurley’s recommendation. The new vote effectively disbands the committee.

Board president Barry Resnick and trustees Robert H. Viviano and Maureen Aschoff abstained from vote, saying that the original motion should be amended if improper but could be rewritten without eliminating the committee.

The committee was formed to appease angry Anaheim Hills residents, who packed the district boardroom two weeks ago to oppose a plan that would mingle funds originally earmarked to build two schools and instead build only one. Trustees voted 4 to 3 that night to postpone the public hearing on the plan and agreed to form a three-person committee to meet with residents and study the proposal.

Hurley, an Anaheim Hills resident, initially opposed postponement of the public hearing and the formation of a committee. He said he asked interim Supt. Richard Donoghue on Thursday to investigate whether the board’s vote was proper.

According to Hurley, the Orange County Department of Education’s legal staff advised “that the motion to form a committee was out of order” because the item was not included on the agenda and was improperly combined with a motion to postpone the public hearing.

Some board members questioned Hurley’s motives in seeking legal advice on the initial decision.

“Maybe it was an incorrect motion, but does he have the right to change the entire context?” Resnick said. “This looks like someone not getting their own way and manipulating the system so that they can get what they want.”

Resnick said Hurley circumvented usual procedure by seeking legal counsel without consulting with board leadership. Such actions by individual trustees could undermine any decision made by the board, he contended.

Resnick, Viviano and Irish all said they had not been informed that Hurley had sought advice on the matter until minutes before Thursday’s meeting. After checking with the Department of Education’s legal counsel on Friday, Resnick said he was told the board could have rewritten the motion later and acted on it at the next board meeting.