This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

UPDATED: Judge Rules in Favor of Capistrano Unified

The ruling says the school district's school board corrected its Brown Act violation when it held a public meeting in March.

Updated at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 26, 2011.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, a judge sided with , saying the district does not have to admit that its school board violated the state’s open-meeting law.

Although to reinstate two furlough days last year and partially restore teachers’ salaries in January, .

Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“It appears that the alleged violations were cured,” wrote Temporary Judge James Loveder in a tentative ruling Monday. Loveder is the research attorney for Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Lewis.

San Juan Capistrano resident Jim Reardon in late March, contending that the board neither adequately informed the public that it was considering the employee concessions nor reported the actions once taken in closed session.

Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Without acknowledging a violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act, the board held a special meeting in March to discuss the restorations in public.

Reardon’s lawyer, Wayne Tate of Laguna Hills, asked Judge Loveder Monday to be heard on the matter and argued that an admission of guilt is an important component of rectifying a Brown Act violation.  

“There’s still a viable, declaratory-relief action because the school district hasn’t conceded any violation,” Tate said. An admission of guilt is especially vital in light that “this is a school district that has a series of Brown Act violations.”

He cited violations dating back to 1991, the 2007 60-page report District Attorney Tony Ruckaukas released and the , which focused on the teachers’ contract restorations.

Representing the school district, San Diego-based lawyer Michelle K. Meek said she found no requirements arising out of previous cases that demand an admission as part of an effort to correct and cure Brown Act violations.

The question at the beginning stage of the litigation was whether Reardon had a valid claim that should move forward.

Tate said he’s likely to appeal. His goal is to get the district to admit wrongdoing and agree to tape closed-session board meetings, as it had previously done in response to the 2007 D.A. report. That agreement had the board taping its closed sessions for three years, a period of time that has passed. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?