Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident criticizes board's choice of outside counsel and raises book‑ban and transgender policy concerns during public comment
Summary
During public comment, resident Harlan Ettinger accused the majority of the board of seeking lawyers who would support book removals and changes to the district's transgender policy, and urged transparency about the selection of outside general counsel.
Harlan Ettinger, who identified himself as a longtime resident and taxpayer, used the public comment portion of the June 24 meeting to criticize the board's recent decision to replace the district's long-serving general-counsel firm.
"It was obvious where the majority was going from the moment we moved to replace the Comigno firm as the district's general counsel," Ettinger said, arguing that the change signaled an intent to adopt legal strategies that would make it easier to remove books and change protections for transgender students. He named firms and partners and expressed concern that the new counsel would support policy changes to require parental notification and to rescind the district's existing protections.
Ettinger framed his remarks as public observation and urged the board to explain the committee's selection process for outside counsel. His statements were made during the public-comment period; there was no immediate board action in response to the remarks recorded in the transcript.
Why it matters: the comment ties together three governance items that have appeared in board discussion in recent months: selection of outside counsel, library/course material reviews, and debate over the district's transgender-related policy (identified in the meeting as "policy 57 56"). Those topics can lead to formal policy changes, litigation, or AG involvement if pursued. The board did not take action on the public comment itself at the meeting; any administrative or policy response would require subsequent agenda placement and a formal vote.
