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Board member Ken urges caution on consent calendars, warns of Brown Act risks
Summary
Ken, a long-serving board member, criticized habitually consent-calendaring items and warned that serial communications and subcommittee decision-making can exclude the public and risk Brown Act violations.
Ken, a board member on the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District board, used the meeting's discussion of bylaw changes to deliver an extended statement opposing what he described as a trend toward placing substantial business on consent calendars and into subcommittees.
Ken warned that "there's a lot going on here that seems to indicate me that there is a movement to try and get everything to be as consent calendared as possible." He said private texts or coordinated off-line communications among board members can create legal exposure under the Brown Act and urged that staff avoid "pre-packaging" decisions so the full board and the public can participate. He emphasized allowing members of the public who arrive late to still speak and recommended ensuring three board members are present for deliberations. The transcript contains no recorded rebuttal or formal board action on these remarks.
