State open public meeting laws allow closed sessions on some personnel and legal matters, but only with public notice. That enables public to connect dots between closed meeting notifications and public actions by governing bodies.
State law limits confidentiality to prevent abuse of secrecy. Employees with grievances can ask for public hearings, and an elected official can publicly disclose grounds for challenging meeting closure.
To selectively keep grievances and claims secret as possible, settlements often include a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Simply, an amount of money (often year’s salary plus legal fees) is offered to induce employees to release the local governing body from liability on terms not revealed to public.
Except in rare cases, public interest is served by disclosing local government responsibility for accidents or wrongful actions harming employees. Too often NDA’s are used to silence employees without determining merits of grievances, thereby evading political accountability for negligence or abuse of power in the workplace.
That’s why, as contemplated by state law, many parents and teachers began connecting dots between the school board’s closed session discussion on an unnamed employee’s discipline, dismissal, or release on June 25, 2019, and the sudden unexplained June 30 resignation of Assistant Superintendent Alyssa Odipo.
Senior staff sit with school board members in public proceedings, public figures whose departures typically are preceded by press reports, last-meeting tributes, sometimes a luncheon. Instead, Odipo’s chair sat empty at same meeting the school board made a legally-required announcement than an unnamed employee’s resignation was accepted in closed session.
Odipo headed curriculum success recognized by a U.S. Department of Education award being touted by our school board. Yet, termination of her role was announced in an LBUSD press brief reported on in the August 29 edition of the Indy, revealing unplanned restructuring of senior staff.
Apparently necessitated by Odipo’s departure, the head of both human resources and public communications, Leisa Winston, was promoted to deputy superintendent. In that newly created position, Winston now heads human resources, public communications, and curriculum duties Odipo performed.
To support Winston juggling that portfolio, a popular elementary school principal was reassigned as her human resources director. No wonder, as our state legislature intended, citizens are asking reasonable questions.
Was there a grievance or claim? If so, a settlement? If meritorious, why should we buy her silence with tax dollars that have no benefit to students?
Howard Hills, Laguna Beach
Selective disclosure also happens even when it’s there is no due process & an expectation of privacy.
People can sue but once your name/reputation has been destroyed it can take 5 years & about $800,000 to win & “fix it” Too late to “UN-Google “& damage done.
I know this Merry go Round too well. Sooner or later, time to jump off