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To Attorney General Daniel Lungren: Ed. Code Sec. 7054 Violation |
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To Attorney General Daniel Lungren: Ed. Code Sec. 7054 Violation |
March 20, 1998
Daniel E. Lungren
Attorney General, State of California
Department of Justice, Suite 300
50 Fremont Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
California Education Code Section 7054 Violation
Dear Attorney General Lungren:
Please consider this to be a formal complaint as regards the captioned violation.
On March 3, 1998, the Lennox school district reportedly held a forum at the Lennox Middle School Cafeteria at 11033 Buford Ave. The Lennox school board, had adopted a resolution to oppose Proposition 227, a June ballot initiative that would end most bilingual education programs. This forum was announced in the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, February 28, 1998, Home Edition, Metro Section, ID #0980019791 and in the Latino Beat on March 1, 1998 under the heading: District to hold pro-bilingual education forum. It is our understanding that the three speakers were invited to this event to talk about "the history of bilingual education and the success of multi-language education programs."
This is in clear violation of the spirit, intent and specific restrictions imposed by Code. The following excerpts refer: "7054. (a) No school district or community college district funds, services, supplies, or equipment shall be used for the purpose of urging the support or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate, including, but not limited to, any candidate for election to the governing board of the district." Since the express purpose of this forum was to urge the defeat of Proposition 227, it appears to be in direct contravention of the Code Section which is continued as follows: "(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of any of the public resources described in subdivision (a) to provide information to the public about the possible effects of any bond issue or other ballot measure if both of the following conditions are met: (1) The informational activities are otherwise authorized by the Constitution or laws of this state. (2) The information provided constitutes a fair and impartial presentation of relevant facts to aid the electorate in reaching an informed judgement regarding the bond issue or ballot measure."
A question of fact arises as to whether or not (1) subdivision (b) (2) has been violated since all speakers spoke in opposition to the ballot measure and (2) subdivision (c) is applicable.
We have been reliably informed that Lennox school district Superintendent McDaniel was notified in advance of this meeting that he would be in violation of the Code should this one-sided forum be held as scheduled. Superintendent MacDaniel, reportedly, chose to ignore the specific restrictions of Section 7054 relying solely, instead, on the general permission for usage as allowed by Section 38131. In our view, he would have been better advised to seek qualified legal opinion in this regard.
In view of this obvious, deliberate, blatant disregard of the controlling elements of the California State Education Code, it is respectfully requested that an investigation be conducted and appropriate action be taken as required by law.
As this letter is being written, it has come to our attention that a second violation has occurred in that the Alisal Union School District in Salinas, Monterey County, in defiance of the Code, has printed and sent home letters encouraging parents to attend an anti-Unz "training." Leaflets to that effect have been printed on school machines reportedly during school time. This Spanish-language, parental "training" is described as "indispensable." It was scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, 1998 in the El Sausal Middle School Library (Salinas High School District) as organized by the Office of Bilingual and Migrant Education (408) 753-4192.
These violations constitute a serious breach of discipline which, in our opinion, can be related to the significant decline of academic proficiency demonstrated within our K-12 program.
We look forward to an investigation of these matters and await your reply.
Very truly yours,
Fred J. Ferrazzano Chairman of the Board of Directors
cc. Assembly Member Bill Morrow Senator David E. Kelley
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