Trustees Meeting to Hire Lawyer

Three trustees of a small Orange County school district who refuse to comply with a state antidiscrimination law have called a special meeting tonight to hire a new lawyer for the district.

The move is the latest by a Westminster School District majority that has been locked in a showdown with state education officials who have threatened to withhold millions of dollars if the district does not adhere to the law by Monday.

Helena Rutkowski, Judy Ahrens and Blossie Marquez-Woodcock ordered the meeting Tuesday night in a hand-delivered letter to board President James Reed and trustee Jo-Ann Purcell.

Ahrens declined to comment, and Rutkowski and Marquez-Woodcock did not return calls to explain whom they want to hire and why. The fate of David Larsen, who has counseled trustees for 27 years under an agreement between his firm and the district, was also uncertain.

Reed, however, angrily denounced the push for new legal counsel as disruptive and costly. He speculated that the three trustees plan to hire a lawyer who will defend their stance against the discrimination law.

“They’re going to get counsel that agrees with them, and there is not a thing we can do to stop them,” Reed said.

Since February, the three trustees have repeatedly refused to revise the district’s discrimination complaint policy to adhere to the state law that allows students and staff to define their own gender, regardless of their biological sex. The law was written to protect transsexuals and others who do not conform to traditional gender roles.

The three -- a Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and nondenominational Christian chaplain -- have said the law affronts their Christian beliefs and would allow transsexuals to promote transsexualism in the classroom and encourage children to cross-dress.

Citing the joint decision to call a meeting and previous public comments by Ahrens in which she indicated that the board majority had already received legal counsel from lawyers outside the district, Reed said he suspects the three have violated the Ralph M. Brown Act -- a state law that requires elected officials to do their business in public.

On Wednesday, Reed called the Orange County district attorney’s office to request an investigation of possible Brown Act violations.

The law does allow a board majority to gather to discuss the need for a special meeting. It prohibits any secret meetings by a board majority to strategize on issues or discuss them in detail.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the district’s offices, 14121 Cedarwood Ave., Westminster.