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Public commenter urges Natomas Unified to settle litigation over voting-rights concerns
Summary
At the board's closed-session notice, public commenter Scott Rafferty criticized the district's litigation approach, saying it threatens enforcement of the California Voting Rights Act and urging an honorable settlement; the board later reported giving direction to counsel in closed session.
The Natomas Unified School District board announced it would meet in closed session "to discuss, conference with legal counsel regarding 1 case of existing litigation," citing a Sacramento County Superior Court matter. Before the closed session, public commenter Scott Rafferty told trustees he believes continuing the litigation undermines enforcement of the California Voting Rights Act and urged the board to seek a settlement.
"Why are you continuing this litigation which threatens a cornerstone of our state's democracy, the California Voting Rights Act," Rafferty said during public comment, criticizing the scope of discovery and saying settlement offers and requests for short delays had been rebuffed. He warned that the district's approach, in his view, discourages volunteer plaintiffs and could harm communities with limited-English-proficiency residents.
The chair told the public the board would go into closed session and reconvened open session at about 05:33, later stating that "direction was given to legal counsel." The board did not discuss further details of the litigation in open session. The comment and the closed-session direction are part of the meeting record; the district's legal posture and any potential settlement terms were not disclosed in open session.
