State commission to consider 2013 bond complaint against Pasco School District

A state oversight official will weigh a claim that the Pasco School District conducted research it later used in a mailer to voters promoting a $46.8 million bond.

The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16, but any penalty against the district would likely be minimal.

District officials asked the Public Disclosure Commission to review its practices after hearing a complaint concerning the district’s actions during the February 2013 bond election.

Officials have said they’ve always sought to comply with state regulations and the subsequent investigation by the commission.

“Our understanding is the hearing is in response to two questions on a survey submitted to the public,” said district spokeswoman Leslee Caul.

The district will have no further comment until after the commission makes a ruling, Caul said. District officials do not plan to attend the hearing.

Roger Lenk of west Pasco filed the complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission and other agencies in the weeks after voters approved the bond in February 2013. He said district emails and other records demonstrated a “hand in glove” relationship between the district and bond advocacy group Pasco Citizens for Better Schools.

“The evidence is clear that there was collusion,” Lenk said in an email to the Herald.

While the hearing will determine whether the district violated any rules, commission spokeswoman Lori Anderson told the Herald only commission Chairwoman Katrina Asay will review the case and the hearing will be short.

That implies there’s no dispute of the facts as investigated by the commission. If the district is found of wrongdoing, the maximum fine would be $1,000.

The bond garnered 62 percent approval in the election, just clearing the 60 percent threshold required for bonds to pass. It paid for the construction of the science- and technology-centric Barbara McClintock, Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin elementary schools, and will help pay for the relocation of New Horizons High School and some improvements at Pasco High School.

By law, public employees cannot campaign for a bond or levy while on duty. Public facilities and resources also cannot be used. District officials are, however, allowed to provide information about a ballot measure and how the district would be affected if it passes or fails.

Lenk filed a 220-page document, which pulled heavily from documents he requested from the district, with the commission the summer after the bond election.

He alleged Superintendent Saundra Hill and other district employees used their time as district employees, district resources and facilities to promote the bond, including support of fundraising activities for bond proponents among district employees, requiring district employees attend bond information sessions, and use of district email to inform employees of promotions supportive of the bond.

Lenk opposed the bond, saying that the district is building schools that are too large. The district ignored him and his efforts to provide an official opposition to the bond for the election’s voters pamphlet, despite his contacting district officials, he added.

The commission attributed the delay in getting to Lenk’s complaint to its workload. There are only a few staff members who investigate allegations connected to elections, political contributions and related matters, Anderson once said. Cases are handled in the order they are received, and there was a backlog before Lenk filed his complaint, a fact the west Pasco resident said he is aware of.

“The PDC has very limited resources, a wide breadth of responsibilities, and has seen significant turnover,” he said. “As such, I am not sure how this issue fit on their radar screen in the grand scheme of things.”

The commission was originally scheduled to have a hearing on the complaint in December but the district requested a continuance.

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 8:26 PM with the headline "State commission to consider 2013 bond complaint against Pasco School District."