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The Oregon Ethics Commission has found current and former school board members of Madrone Trail Public Charter School were not “willful or intentional” in violating the state’s public meetings law earlier this year.
Still, the commission implored the violating board members to responsibly execute executive sessions going forward and to familiarize themselves with all aspects of public meeting law.
That was according to letters the commission sent to Bryant Jackson, Gesine Abraham, Katie Stumpff, Kelly Stofflet and board Chair Erik Johnsen as part of a settlement in lieu of monetary penalties, according to documents the Mail Tribune received through a public records request.
Two other individuals, Krista Peterson , a former board member , and Sage Keene , an incumbent , reportedly received the same letters, but they have not been returned to the commission.
On Friday, the commission approved the final stipulated orders for the seven current and former board members, marking the conclusion of its review of a Jan. 14 executive session that involved the Madrone Trail School board’s critique of John Bissey, who stepped down from the director’s post at the end of the most recent school year. “I don’t think we violated the spirit of the laws,” Johnsen said in an interview. “It is what it is, and I think we’re going to keep doing what we can do to make the school better and make sure we’re headed on the right path.” In an email to the newspaper, Stofflet said the offer from the commission to settle was a positive outcome. “I did not see it as conceding or admitting guilt.
I saw it as an opportunity for me to learn more about being on a board,” she wrote. “I also did not think spending school funds on lawyers to fight something like this was necessary or what was best for our school community.” Stofflet added: “We as a board have never sought to mislead or hide anything from our community.
So saying we didn't know or we could have done better should, again, not be looked down on.” The commission’s investigation was launched Jan. 20, after Bissey filed a complaint, alleging “many violations” of the public meetings law that were “the culmination of unethical behavior on the part of our board president.” Contacted by the Mail Tribune Friday, Bissey agreed only to issue a prepared statement on the condition it be published in full.
It called the commission’s findings “an unfortunate but expected outcome.” “Hopefully through this process and the letter of education by the Ethics Commission, the Madrone Trail School Board will follow the law in the future and lead transparently.
The Madrone Trail community deserves that, at the very least,” Bissey stated. “Though I have moved on, my experience at Madrone Trail was my proudest endeavor of public service, and I sincerely hope the community can heal, trust can be restored and the school thrives.” He was referring to a monthslong conflict described at one point by the board as “a nonfunctional relationship.” This led to some tense school board meetings and the departure of two members, Peterson and Jackson.
Bissey requested the board go through a mediation with him, and that’s what precipitated the need for a previously unscheduled meeting Jan. 14.
The Ethics Commission found, although that meeting notice was written in a way that followed the law, the timing of its release did not, because Bissey was not given the minimum 24 hours advance notice.
Thus, the executive session was “not authorized,” according to the commission.
The commission’s probe also discovered that, during the meeting, the board violated executive session rules by having a discussion beyond the subject of Bissey’s performance by bringing up such things as whether to pursue mediation, who would attend and how much it would cost.
In an interview with the newspaper, Johnsen defended his and the board’s actions during the Jan. 14 meeting. “We took an interpretation of how we could hold a meeting … within the guidelines, but there’s not a lot of clear rules; a lot of it’s subjective,” he said. “When you have a discussion in real time, you can’t really dictate what comes out of people’s mouths.
So, we tried to corral the discussion in the best way we could. … In a second look, the commission came to a more strict interpretation of things.” Johnsen added he believes the current makeup of the Ethics Commission is what contributed to the outcome of the probe, and it might have been different had other members examined the facts of the charter school’s meeting.
Since the commission’s order came down, Johnsen has been in talks with Stofflet, the board’s vice president, to see whether state officials can provide meetings training in the coming months.
He added that such training, which is free, has occurred in the past. “Training is always good,” Johnsen said.
Stofflet agreed, noting current members of the board have not served for very long. “With a volunteer role that impacts such an important community, any training to help us do better is necessary,” she wrote.
Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or kopsahl@rosebudmedia.com.