The Morgan Hill Unified School District’s board of education removed an agenda item having to do with more than $7,000 in conference and travel expenses the superintendent racked up dating back to August 2014.
Early on in the April 21 meeting, where tensions seen in recent sessions remained above the surface, MHUSD Trustee Donna Foster-Ruebusch requested to remove the last item from the 17-item consent calendar—which is typically reserved for particulars that are deemed routine by the board and voted on in one single vote.
Board President Bob Benevento granted Foster-Ruebusch’s request to table the issue, after Trustee Rick Badillo asked to have it pulled from the consent calendar for further discussion.
Badillo then asked why such a move was made, and Benevento said it was because a trustee requested it. At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Badillo again requested that the superintendent’s expense report be put back on a future agenda for open discussion. In both instances, Benevento replied simply that Badillo’s requests were heard.
Benevento then had to backtrack after moving to the next item since the board failed to vote to approve the remaining consent items. The board voted 4-3 for approval with Benevento and Foster-Ruebusch along with trustees Ron Woolf and Amy Porter-Jensen standing in the majority.
Badillo, as well as trustees David Gerard and Gino Borgioli, were opposed to excluding Betando’s expenses from the agenda. Badillo had requested the item be added to a meeting agenda at a previous meeting.
The debate over whether a discussion of Betando’s expenses should be included in open session parallels the question of whether such expenses are justified.
“No, I don’t think his charges are excessive, and I do think he needs to have professional enrichment,” Porter-Jensen said Wednesday morning. “I think that we’re focusing in the wrong areas and that it should be a non-issue….I think it’s a waste of time.”
Trustee David Gerard begged to differ, however. Gerard said he was “puzzled” as to why the item was removed from Tuesday’s agenda since the superintendent’s expense report “is nothing confidential (because) every expenditure that we have as public officials….is public record.”
On Thursday morning, Betando declared that his expenses are no secret and he would be happy to share a detailed list with The Times and with the public if necessary.
An attachment that came with the April 21 agenda listed $7,215.15 in “Superintendent Travel Expenses,” including $1,200 for Leadership Morgan Hill Class of 2015 Registration, $882.60 for hotel/parking expenses while attending the 2014 California School Boards Association Annual Conference held in San Francisco and another $840.99 for hotel costs at the 2014 ACSA Leadership Summit in San Diego.
“This has never been an issue with past superintendents and Steve’s is no more excessive than theirs,” Porter-Jensen noted. “From my knowledge, it’s not policy that the board has to approve his expenses. In my 2-and-a-half years (on the board), this is the first time anything like this has been brought before us, including when Wes (Smith) was our superintendent.”
Betando replaced Smith as superintendent on an interim basis in July 2013 and was appointed to the permanent position the following year. Betando said his contract is similar in language to that of Smith, who followed the same procedure in reimbursement for expenses.
According to Article IV, section 7, titled “Professional Activities,” of Betando’s contract, the district leader is encouraged “to participate in professional organizations and activities, provided that such participation is consistent with his District responsibilities.” The article goes on to say, “With advance Board approval, the Superintendent may attend appropriate professional meetings at the local, county, state, and national levels.”
Betando’s expenses which appeared on the April 21 agenda before the item was removed, have not gained prior board approval.
“He must get prior board approval before going off to a conference and getting reimbursed (for his expenses),” Gerard said. “He can go to any conference he wants, but if he wants to get reimbursed, he must get prior board approval.”
The subject of MHUSD officials’ expenses is not a new one as the board has tackled the issue in recent months when it comes to reimbursements for the elected trustees. The previous board—which changed three of seven members in the November 2014 election—rejected Badillo’s request for reimbursement after he attended two conferences without prior board approval. Those include one held by the California Latino School Boards Association where he was appointed an officer.
“It’s a double standard and I’m frankly getting tired of these kinds of things detracting from our mission of (improving) student achievement and student safety,” Gerard said. “To take this off the public agenda, it’s not right.”
Gerard said he was troubled that the superintendent would even ask for mileage reimbursement (close to $200 worth on the itemized list) since he receives a monthly $600 car allowance as part of his contract.
Benevento could not be reached for comment after the board meeting. Trustees and staff returned to closed session at the conclusion of public meeting.
The seven trustees collectively get a loosely enforced $13,000 cap for professional development per school year. Currently, they are working on a policy that would allow for each trustee to expense up to $3,000 per year, but that has not yet been voted on.
