CALEXICO — The Calexico Unified School District discussed formally pursuing litigation compelling the State Attorney General to form an opinion on whether a person can hold positions on a city council and a school board at the same time.
However, there was no reportable action taken Tuesday night after the closed-session discussion.
Joong Kim was a sitting Calexico Unified school board member when he was successfully elected to the City Council in the fall, but other board members and district officials have said they believe holding the two positions at once is incompatible.
“We’re not the only district this has occurred in … in the matters that have been taken to the attorney general in the past, the attorney general has delivered the opinion that the offices are incompatible,” Calexico Unified Superintendent Maria Ambriz said.
Kim is still a school board trustee and can still vote on items until the district receives an opinion from the State Attorney General.
The process of formally receiving an opinion is extensive, Ambriz said, and will cost the district in the form of attorney fees.
However, many are anxious to have the issue resolved.
“I’d like to get to the point where we’re dealing with the education of children and not the politics that surround the board and its issues,” she said. “I value his commitment to public service, but he has to accept at some point that there can be a potential conflict.”
Kim has said in the past that he would abstain from voting on issues that could cause conflict.
The board also voted 4-0 to revise its bylaws to change the school board’s regular meeting days to the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. The board met on Tuesdays in the past and then was meeting on Thursdays the last couple of years.
“The majority of the board agrees that Tuesday is a better night for them in general,” Ambriz said.
Several members of the public pleaded with the board not to make the change, saying the lengthy meetings on Tuesday night would be an inconvenience.
The move was initially voted on in December but the board bylaws were formally revised Tuesday.
The city of Calexico also holds its meetings on Tuesdays, but normally they occur the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
Both the school district and the City Council met Tuesday since the City Council’s schedule was pushed back due to the New Year’s Day holiday.
Despite some belief that the meeting day change was in response to the controversy surrounding Kim’s positions, Ambriz said that’s not the case, and that it was simply a more convenient night for most of the board members to meet.
She said Kim has sought legal counsel, “believing we have purposefully created a conflict for him.”
Kim decided to attend the Calexico City Council meeting Tuesday and was absent for the school board meeting.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
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