A Merced County Civil Grand Jury investigation found Merced City School District trustees violated California’s open meeting law and education code on numerous occasions.

The violations of the Brown Act, which is the state’s open meeting law, and Education Code stem from the school district failing for months to vote on and post past meeting minutes.

Plus, jurors found trustees had “serial meetings” through text messages and email threads.

The investigation found the board failed to follow its own governance guidelines and other protocols and policies. Additionally, the school district lacks clear policies and procedures for those who wish to file a complaint with human resources, the investigation found.

“The Merced City School District administration, along with the Merced City School District Board of Trustees, have lost respect and trust from some of those they serve,” the report begins.

The grand jury investigation was sparked after the body received complaints. One trustee, Jessee Espinosa, told The Merced FOCUS he filed two complaints with the grand jury.

However, the grand jury does not disclose whose complaints they investigate, so it’s unclear if the investigation was a result of Espinosa’s complaints.

“I was really happy to see that the civil grand jury was taking these concerns seriously and provided some serious confirmation that these things were happening,” Espinosa told The Merced FOCUS.

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Investigation’s Findings

The civil grand jury operates as an independent body and watchdog over local government.

The Merced City School District investigation yielded the most findings and recommendations in its 2023-24 report. The investigation resulted in 10 findings and 11 recommendations.

According to its report, the grand jury received complaints about the current board and district administration. The complaints alleged Brown Act violations, board misconduct and policy violations, such as sexual misconduct, harassment and bullying and intimidation in the workplace.

The report noted that members of the public, on multiple occasions, expressed concern for the future of the district under the current leadership.

The grand jury report also acknowledged the unreleased stakeholder report compiled by McPherson & Jacobson, a consulting firm the board hired – and later fired – to conduct the superintendent search.

The investigation found the board violated the Brown Act and California Education Code.

The violations occurred by disclosing closed session information, holding serial meetings, and failure to approve board minutes. The grand jury obtained text messages and emails that indicated trustees were conducting serial meetings by having two or more trustees in email and text threads – a Brown Act violation.

The grand jury also noted several board meetings where no minutes were put to a vote and never uploaded to the website. When members of the grand jury visited the district office in May seeking meeting minutes for meetings in October and February, they left empty handed.

“District personnel attempted to demonstrate how to access the minutes online through the District website. They were unsuccessful in locating those minutes on the website. District personnel attempted unsuccessfully to connect the grand jury with the staff member responsible for board minutes,” the report reads.

The watchdog report also addressed trustee behavior during meetings, including interrupting each other and public speakers, speaking among themselves while others were speaking, eye rolling and smirking.

“Though it is not uncommon for a board to disagree with public comments, actions and behaviors such as these do not build unity or create a positive organizational culture,” the report said.

Multiple sources told the grand jury that sexual harassment, intimidation, and fear of retaliation exist within the district, according to the report. The grand jury found four court cases involving sexual harassment since 2005. The grand jury also found the district received three complaints for bullying and sexual harassment in the 2021-22 school year; two in the 2022-23 school year and one in the 2023-24 school year.

The grand jury reported the process to file a complaint with human resources was confusing and not transparent.

What Are Trustees Saying?

In an interview with The Merced FOCUS, Board President Allen Brooks said many of the issues identified in the investigation have been addressed.

For example, district staff at a recent school board meeting acknowledged the missing meeting minutes and said work was being done to update them. Brooks attributed the issue to a change in staffing.

Plus, Brooks said the unanimous vote to recently hire new Merced City Schools superintendent Julianna Stocking showed the board has made strides to work together better.

“This is a wonderful reflection of where we were at and how far we have come,” Brooks said.

Brooks also clarified one point in the report, noting the board has never censured a trustee.

The report found trustees used its censure policy to “silence one another in board meetings.” While the board did update its censure policy during the last school year, which is a formal resolution to reprimand one member, it has never brought forth such a resolution.

Trustee Espinosa, who told The Merced FOCUS he filed complaints with the grand jury, said he’s glad the grand jury fulfilled its duty by investigating. Ultimately, though, he said that by not naming which trustees broke the Brown Act, the investigation doesn’t hold anyone accountable.

Espinosa told The Merced FOCUS he filed a complaint about Trustee Priya Lakireddy and believed she broke the Brown Act when she texted with McPherson & Jacobson consultants. The text messages were revealed through a public records request.

Espinosa said since filing the complaint, he, Lakireddy and the rest of the board were able to get several positive things done, such as hiring the superintendent and passing a new, research-based approach for teaching literacy, called the Science of Reading.

Looking back, a censure resolution could have prevented that progress, he said. But after the grand jury investigation, he’s unsure how he will move forward.

“Now I’m stuck into this unfortunate situation where I’m disappointed, personally, that the civil grand jury confirmed the violations of significant state law and policy but then refused to take significant accountability measures, or even measures of transparency, to say who broke what laws.”

Lakireddy, in response to Espinosa’s complaints against her, called the allegations “hurtful.” She told The Merced FOCUS she also wished he had spoken to her before filing the complaints.  .

Brooks and Espinosa  said they never read the unreleased McPherson & Jacobson report. However, Lakireddy obtained a copy from Merced County Office of Education Superintendent Steve Tietjen and read it.

In speaking with The Merced FOCUS, Espinosa speculated that Lakireddy may have disseminated the report to teachers. Lakireddy flatly denied that. “I was not the one who released that,” Lakireddy told The Merced FOCUS.

“It shows, again, we have an issue with communication. We don’t trust each other,” Lakireddy said. “And if we operate like this, how can the district and the employees who work for us trust anything that we do? And how do we move forward? I think the goal at the end of the day is moving forward.”

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Revolving Door of Leadership

The grand jury report, published at the end of each fiscal year, comes as the county’s largest school district and its board hope to turn a new leaf after five years of instability. Since the district’s longtime Superintendent RoseMary Parga Duran retired in 2019, the district has seen a new superintendent each year.

Parga Duran’s successor, Al Rogers, resigned amid a sexual harassment lawsuit that was later settled. An interim superintendent led the district until the board of trustees hired Diana Jimenez. Less than one year later, the board fired her without cause. Since then, Brian Meisenheimer has led the district as acting superintendent.

The board also struggled with infighting as it searched for a new superintendent. The  division between the trustees came to a head when, on a split vote, it terminated the contract with the first consulting firm conducting the superintendent search.

The board also declined to accept a stakeholder report from the consulting firm, McPherson & Jacobson. The report contained community criticism of the board and allegations of misconduct and an extramarital affair against top administrators.

The decision not to release the report and to cut ties with the consulting firm set off public outcry.

The board moved forward in its search for a new leader, while also participating in governance workshops to improve internal dynamics. Board President Allen Brooks told The Merced FOCUS the issues identified in the unreleased report were previously dealt with.

The grand jury report was published one day before Merced City’s new superintendent, Julianna Stocking, began her new job. After hiring a second consulting firm to conduct the search, the board unanimously voted to hire Stocking, a Merced County native who most recently worked as an associate superintendent for Tracy Unified.

This year’s 16-member grand jury in Merced County, led by foreman Paul Speers, received and reviewed 47 complaints and thoroughly investigated six community complaints. Merced’s Civil grand jury also initiated an additional investigation. The Civil grand jury also conducts annual inspections of the county’s detention facilities and operations.

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