State watchdog agency to investigate Twin Rivers board president
The state Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating whether Twin Rivers Unified school board President Linda Fowler violated conflict-of-interest rules by accepting thousands of dollars in consulting fees from a charter school she helped establish.
Highlands Community Charter School paid Fowler’s consulting firm $13,000 in October before canceling the contract when the school principal questioned its propriety.
The FPPC, a state watchdog agency, is acting on a June complaint it received from Jacob Walker, academic coordinator at Highlands Community Charter, according to an FPPC letter sent last week. He claimed Fowler used her position on the Twin Rivers board to pressure the school into hiring her.
Fowler’s firm was paid to pursue a federal startup grant for the adult education school, and she said she split the $13,000 with another consultant. Walker said he filed his complaint because of that contract – and a tentative new arrangement by which she can earn $600 a week.
Fowler says school board members can legally work for charter schools in their district, and that she should get paid for her efforts on behalf of the school.
The Twin Rivers Unified School District board established the Highlands school in March 2014 to give students older than 22 an opportunity to earn high school diplomas, learn vocations and improve English skills. About 40 percent of the 300 students attending Highlands Community Charter have spent time in prison.
Fowler previously told The Bee that the charter school’s founding members met before the school board approved the new program and discussed which jobs they would hold once it opened. She made the motion to approve the Highlands charter at a Twin Rivers Unified board meeting on March 4, 2014. The board, including Fowler, voted 7-0 in favor.
Fowler became a member of the Highlands Community Charter School board after the Twin Rivers board selected her as the liaison between the district board and the school.
She did not vote on her consulting contract with Highlands and stepped down as a member of its board on Sept. 18, the day after the charter’s trustees approved her contract in closed session and a week before they passed it in an open meeting. She told the board she would continue to vote on Highlands board items as the liaison from Twin Rivers Unified, according to the minutes.
It’s unclear how long the FPPC will take to investigate the complaint. Such reviews typically take a few weeks or months, said Jay Wierenga, spokesman for the watchdog agency. Ninety percent of the investigations last less then a year, depending on the complexity and how much cooperation the agency receives, he said.
Each violation of the the Political Reform Act can carry a $5,000 fine. Fines depend on a number of factors, Wierenga said, including whether the individual has had previousState watchdog agency to investigate Twin Rivers board president | The Sacramento Bee:
