Candidate: School Board violated open-meeting law

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

Attorney Richard Segerblom has filed a complaint alleging that the Clark County School Board, for which he is a candidate, violated the state's open-meeting law during a closed-session performance evaluation of Superintendent Carlos Garcia.

In a letter to the state Attorney General's office, Segerblom cited a Las Vegas Sun article from June 15 in which Garcia said he had updated the School Board on his initiatives during the closed session. Board members had also expressed concern about the high number of high school students failing the state's math proficiency test, Garcia said.

The School Board "should not be allowed to hide behind the guise of a 'personnel session' to keep the public from knowing what the Superintendent has done in the past and intends to do in the future to address the critical needs of our students," Segerblom's complaint notes.

Closed personnel sessions must be properly posted with the name of the individual to be discussed listed on the agenda, according to the Attorney General's open-meeting law manual posted on the office's Web site. The sessions may be used to "consider character, allegations of misconduct, professional competence, or physical or mental health of a person" but no action may be taken, according to the statute.

Deputy District Attorney Ann Bersi, who is assigned to provide legal counsel to the School Board, said the June 14 evaluation fell "well within" the state's statute.

"The open-meeting law does provide for an employer, like the School Board, to go into closed session to discuss performance issues," said Bersi, who was present for the evaluation. "It is not a violation to discuss student achievement in a closed session."

Bersi also noted that the agenda for Thursday's School Board meeting -- posted last week, in advance of Segerblom's complaint -- includes an item that calls for the superintendent to provide a more complete analysis of students who failed the math and reading sections of the proficiency test.

"He's (Segerblom) saying these are things that need to be discussed in public -- well, here it is," Bersi said. "Clearly the School Board is keeping the public in mind."

Representatives for the Attorney General's office said they could not comment on a pending complaint.

Clark County School Board President Susan Brager-Wellman said Segerblom's complaint has no "factual basis" and is an attempt to draw attention to his candidacy.

"How else would you do an evaluation if Mr. Garcia can't share his view of things and we can't express our concerns?" Brager-Wellman said.

Brager-Wellman said closed sessions are always attended by legal counsel -- typically both Bersi and the school district's senior counsel, Bill Hoffman.

"If we (School Board members) accidentally veer off what's an allowable topic they'll stop us instantly," Brager-Wellman said. "This board adheres to the law."

In an interview Tuesday Segerblom said Garcia's entire evaluation process should take place in a public forum.

"I can't imagine someone making the equivalent of $250,000 and we can't know what the board thinks about him," said Segerblom, who has represented dozens of school employees in employment-related suits against the district. "Closed personnel sessions are appropriate for a teacher -- not the chief executive."

Segerblom is one of six candidates challenging incumbent Shirley Barber's effort to retain the District C seat on the board. The other candidates are Ernest Del Casal, Tammy Green, Gary Hunter, Jefferson Lee and Merietta Oviatt.