Trustees Complied With Meeting Law

* In response to your editorial, “A Vote for Darkness” (March 24): The first rule of elected officials should be to conduct the public business in public. Also, it does appear that legislative bodies of public agencies do too often use excuses to meet behind closed doors.

To attempt to link these statements to the Santa Ana Unified School District trustees’ action to censure one of its own reflects a lack of understanding of the issue in question and confused knowledge of the law.

The issue was the procedure utilized to release confidential documents and not what price was offered or paid for school sites.

State law (the Brown Act) does allow closed-door meetings not only for personnel and litigation matters but also for real property purchases or sales.

Appraisals and attorney-client privileged communications related to directions given to negotiate the sale or purchase of property are proper closed-session discussion. It’s obvious that if this process takes place in public, it tips the school districts’ hand to prospective sellers or purchasers.

Yes, the issue as to whether the school board was going to pay too much was of substantial interest to the public. But state law requires the State Allocation Board to thoroughly review any school district’s purchase of real property.

This procedure protects and ensures the public’s interest in not paying an unreasonable price.

The Brown Act authorizes the release of confidential documents concerning proper closed-session matters only by a majority vote of the school board or by court order.

Agreed, the job of elected officials is not to keep the taxpayers in the dark; it is to explain and enlighten. But it is also to comply with the law and set an example of such, especially when they guide the education of our children.

This is why a board member was censured. Since there are valid ways to obtain the property’s purchase price and inform the public, the end did not justify the means.

KEITH V. BREON

Santa Ana

Keith V. Breon is legal counsel for the Santa Ana Unified School District board.