PLACENTIA : Superintendent’s Contract Extended

Supt. James O. Fleming was given a two-year contract extension by the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Board of Trustees this week after lengthy debate over whether the board had already voted on the action at a previous meeting.

The controversy was first raised at a meeting last month, when Trustee Barbara Williams claimed that the minutes of the July 28 board meeting did not reflect the board’s decision to extend Fleming’s contract, which would have expired in 1994.

The minutes for the July 28 meeting indicate that the board adjourned to closed session at 10:15 p.m. to conduct Fleming’s evaluation. At 11:57 p.m., the board reconvened in regular session and the meeting adjourned at midnight, the minutes show.

In those three minutes, Williams said, the board voted on two actions. The first was a motion to extend Fleming’s contract for one year, which Williams said she and Trustee Connie Underhill voted for and the three other trustees voted against.

A second motion was to extend the contract for two years. According to Williams, she was the lone dissenting vote on that motion.

Neither of these actions was reflected in the minutes, which are the legal record of the board’s decisions. The agenda for the July 28 meeting did not include an item on the superintendent’s contract extension, an action which must be posted in the agenda 72 hours in advance of the meeting under state law.

Although no board member is disputing William’s contention that the board discussed the length of Fleming’s extension, Underhill said the board was merely voting on how long of an extension trustees would be considering when they ultimately voted on the extension.

According to board President Karen Freeman, the three minutes in question are not recorded because there was confusion as to whether the action constituted an official vote.

“We were confused as to whether it was closed or open session,” Freeman said. “It wasn’t in the minutes because we were unclear as to what action was taken.”

Fleming, who is responsible for recording the minutes, said he chose to leave off the disputed action after consulting the school district’s attorney.

“Legal counsel told me if there was no public present at the meeting (when the vote took place) and (if) there was any confusion, (to vote) again in public,” Fleming said.

Williams called the situation an embarrassment to the district and the superintendent.

“The five of us should be competent enough to hold a meeting and record what happened,” Williams said. “We should know whether it was an open or closed session.”

Under the action taken by the board Tuesday, Fleming’s contract will be extended to 1996. Fleming was hired in January, 1987. His salary package, including benefits, is about $107,000, he said.