A school board in Ventura County has censured one of its members because of what many community members saw as his efforts to intimidate, and threaten opponents.
Hundreds of people packed the Conejo Valley School Board’s chambers Tuesday night. But, Mike Dunn, the man at the center of the controversy was a no-show, deciding not to attend the meeting.
Dozens of people testified school board member Dunn tried to strongarm some opponents with emails. He’s clashed with members of the community over his efforts to restrict literature in schools.
A handful of people testified on Dunn’s behalf, but most focused on the past debate over district literature, and not the concerns about Dunn’s emails.
Dunn had emailed the employer of one opponent, threatening to mention the name of his business every time she testified at school board meetings. But, Scott Harris said he supported employee Jessica Weihe’s right to speak, and said what Dunn did was simply wrong.
Nelson Buss, who says he may run for the school board, said Dunn threatened him by falsely implying he might have a criminal background.
Board member Dr. Betsy Connolly, who authored the censure resolution, noted she served on the board with Dunn for years. She says he’s become a person who doesn’t respect protocols or ethics.
While Dunn refused to attend the meeting, he sent a statement saying what he called the attacks against him crossed a line. While he didn’t apologize, he said in the statement he should have ignored the attacks and not responded. The censure says Dunn’s actions were unacceptable and unprofessional. Board
Chairman John Anderson apologized to the community on behalf of the board for the controversy caused by the emails.
