Conflict of interest? Decision time for official
He cannot serve on both school and college district boards, law says
HAYWARD >> Luis Reynoso got good news as votes were tallied in November.
He not only got reelected as a trustee of the Hayward Unified Unified School District but also secured a seat on the board of the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District. And he was sworn in to both offices.
But that’s also a problem, according to the Hayward district.
State law prohibits a public official from serving on a school board and a community college board with overlapping boundaries, officials note. Reynoso now needs to pick where he wants to serve, they say.
Trustees of the Hayward school district met in closed session Dec. 17 to discuss the situation.
April Oquenda, the board president, said in a statement afterward that Reynoso “has been presented with the full legal analysis, so he may himself determine how he would like to proceed.”
Reynoso did not take part in the closed proceedings, though he apparently wanted to, trying to speak at the start of the online meeting during public comment until he was muted.
Trustees said Reynoso is welcome to continue representing the school district, which has about 20,000 students — but not at the same time as the community college district. He first was elected in 2008. This marks his fourth term on the board.
Reynoso did not respond to requests for comment.
“It’s important to note that running for both seats, in and of itself, is not prohibited,” Oquendo said. “In fact, the Alameda County registrar of voters vetted Dr. Reynoso’s candidacy and determined that he was eligible for both seats. The legal implications only arise once a candidate is elected for both positions and seeks to serve on both boards at the same time.”
Hay ward Superindentent Matt Wayne posted in an online community message that Reynoso has until the end of the month to make a decision.
“Dr. Reynoso made a choice, after being fully informed, to take the oath of office in both districts, causing the situation we are forced to deal with now,” Wayne said.
After trustees emerged from
the closed session during the online Zoom meeting, Reynoso held up a handwritten sign for viewers reading, “They never let me in closed session.”
He did not speak following the closed session.
But Rey noso and Oquenda got into a testy exchange before tr ustees went into closed session, when Oquenda asked if members of the public wished to address the board and Reynoso said he wanted to talk.
Oquenda told him he could not speak because he was attending the meeting as a trustee, not as someone from the public, and as a result could not weigh in during that portion of the meeting.
He replied that he was
a member of the public. “I am a taxpayer,” he said. “I am a voter.”
Oquenda t old t hose watching the meeting that Reynoso was not allowed to participate in the session because trustees would be discussing his being sworn in for two seats and that it could violate the law, plus that the situation exposed the district to litigation.
“To protect Dr. Reynoso from breaking the law, he needed to be recused since the law prohibits him from inf luencing or par ticipating in any way in the board’s deliberation on this topic,” she announced after the session.
Reynoso topped the poll in the race for a spot on the board of the ChabotLas Positas Community College District, capturing about 56% of the vote, beating Robert Carlson, who secured about 43% of
ballots cast.
Reynoso received about 14% of the vote in the Hayward school board race, coming in third in the race for three open seats.
Callers supportive
About half a dozen people called into the Zoom school board meeting, most voicing support for Reynoso.
Some accused the board of racism because Reynoso is Latino and of attempting to disenfranchise voters because they sup - ported him.
School district officials apparently got a tip about his apparent conflict of interest from a member of the public.
Hay ward of f icials pointed to a California government code section that says, “A public officer shall not simultaneously hold two public offices that are incompatible (when) …
there is a possibility of a significant clash of duties or loyalties between the offices.”
They also cited an opinion from the state attorney general in 2000 that said, “The offices of trustee of a school district and
trustee of a community college district with overlapping boundaries would be found to constitute incompatible offices.”
“T his is not a personal issue,” Oquenda announced after trustees met in closed session.” We have no desire to go against the will of the voters. This is not something any of us wanted to have happened. This is a very difficult conversation for us to have.”