November 14, 2024
By Brian Hews
Violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act [Brown Act] are being leveled against Whittier Union High School District [WUHSD] Trustees for holding a Board meeting without proper notice to the public.
WUHSD Trustee Gary Mendez has filed a complaint with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Office outlining the illegal meeting. California School Employees Association [CSEA] representatives, who were compelled to attend, are also alleging intimidation by the Trustees during the meeting.
The Zoom meeting occurred on October 10, 2024, at approximately 1:00 pm, attended by a majority of WHUSD Trustees, including Area 3 Trustee Josefina Canchola, Area 4 Trustee Irma Rodriguez Moisa, and Area 1 Trustee Russell Castaneda Calleros.
From (l-r) Trustees Russell Castaneda Calleros, Josefina Canchola, and Irma Rodriguez Moisa.
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Also present at the meeting was CSEA President Art Siegrist, CSEA Vice President Lori Zaragoza, and Dallas Emerlé, CSEA Labor Relations Representative.
The Brown Act defines three situations that are not considered “meetings” that a majority of a public agency body can attend, including conferences, community meetings, and other legislative bodies.
None of the exceptions applied to the October 10 WUHSD meeting.
Under the Brown Act, the meeting should have been held within WHUSD’s boundaries, given a 72-hour notice with an agenda, and open to the public, but the Trustees did not follow the Act.
The illegal meeting centered around an email sent out on CSEA’s action network endorsing Francis Carbajal as Trustee. Mendez wrote the email and the CSEA sent it out on its “action network,” which is a separate email system from the District’s email system.
Castañeda Calleros, Canchola, and Rodríguez Moisa saw the email, set up the meeting without proper notice to the public or media, and called in Siegrist, Zaragoza, Emerlé to, according to sources, admonish and intimidate the three for posting the message on the CSEA “action network.”
Mendez subsequently asked CSEA Representative Dallas Emerlé for an email detailing the meeting, Emerlé wrote, “Regarding the October 10 meeting, which took place at 1pm over Zoom, myself, Art Siegrist, and Lori Zaragoza were present for CSEA. Meeting with us were Board Members Russell Castañeda Calleros, Josefina Canchola, and Irma Rodríguez Moisa. The topics discussed were the message sent by CSEA via action network, drafted by yourself [Mendez], the process by which CSEA determines which messages to send through that medium.”
Emerlé subsequently alleged that Castañeda Calleros, Canchola, and Rodríguez Moisa then tried to force Siegrist to send out another letter on the action network system, authored by Castañeda Calleros, Canchola, and Rodríguez Moisa, to “clarify inaccuracies,” in the first email.
Emerlé’s email continued, “….and the proposed message to be sent by CSEA to our membership requested and to be drafted by the three board members present. The stated intent of their suggested message was to clarify inaccuracies which they perceived in the message you [Mendez]drafted.”
LCCN asked for comment on the illegal meeting, with the three Trustees writing that they “cannot comment on ongoing matters, avoiding the fact the meeting was illegal and meant to intimidate the CSEA representatives into sending another letter out “clarifying inaccuracies.”
Castañeda Calleros wrote, “Thank you for reaching out. I am aware that a complaint has been filed by a member of our Board. While I cannot speculate on the motives of the author-or provide comment on this matter-I can assure you that I will follow the guidance of legal counsel and remain committed to serving our students and community members. I am hopeful that the facts learned from this inquiry will lead to a resolution of the issue raised.”
General Counsel for the WUHSD is Rick Olivarez of El Monte-based Olivarez Madruga Law Organization, LLP.
Trustee Conchola wrote, “I, along with my fellow WUHSD Trustees, are aware that a letter of complaint has been filed. We are complying fully with all directives from legal counsel regarding this matter. As board members, we cannot offer further comment on ongoing matters involving legal counsel.”
Rodríguez Moisa wrote, “Since I am not aware of the CSEA regional representative’s comment, I cannot respond to it. It is my understanding that a letter of complaint has been filed by a board member and I intend to fully comply with all directives from legal counsel regarding their inquiry. As a board member, I cannot offer further comment regarding this ongoing legal counsel matter.”
However, the intimidation did not end at the meeting; according to sources, the Trustees have placed President Siegrist on leave, alleging he released confidential information about students.
