Placer Union High School District denies Public Records Act request by Auburn Journal in trustee investigation

The Placer Union High School District has denied a June 5 California Public Records Act request from the Auburn Journal and Gold Mountain California News Media seeking the independent investigation into Trustee Tom Duncan's involvement with the Del Oro High School girls basketball program, citing attorney-client privilege and other legal exemptions. The June 29 response from attorneys representing the school district acknowledges a final investigative report exists but states it is exempt from disclosure because it was prepared through legal counsel and is protected by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine. The district also said documents reviewed by the Board of Trustees in closed session are confidential under the Brown Act. The district determined the only non-exempt record responsive to the request was the statement PUHSD Board President Jessica Spaid read publicly following a closed session June 2. It said it identified no additional non-exempt records responsive to the request. The board announced June 2 that an independent review found Duncan's actions "crossed governance boundaries and were inconsistent with Board policies governing the distinction between Board oversight and day-to-day administration." At the same time, the board said investigators found no violations of the California Education Code and did not conclude Duncan acted for personal gain, misused public resources or sought to benefit any individual student. Trustees also announced they would participate in additional governance training. Following that announcement, Gold Mountain California News Media submitted a public records request seeking the investigative report, summaries of the findings, records presented to the board, documents identifying the specific board policies implicated by the investigation, records related to governance training or corrective actions and documents related to the district's retention of outside counsel. The district denied nearly all of those requests. Among the new details disclosed in the June 29 response was how the investigation was conducted. While the board previously described the review as an investigation by "independent outside counsel," the district's attorneys stated the investigation "was conducted through and at the direction of counsel associated with Schools Insurance Group," the district's insurer. As a result, the district said no engagement agreement, contract, retention letter or similar records exist because it did not separately retain outside counsel for the investigation. The response does not identify the attorney or law firm that conducted the investigation. The district also declined to release any executive summary, findings memorandum, presentations, documents reviewed by trustees or other materials related to the investigation, citing attorney-client privilege and the confidentiality of closed-session proceedings. The June 29 letter states the district considers its response to the public records request complete. Gold Mountain California News Media submitted additional questions June 30 seeking clarification on whether the district determined any factual portions of the report could be released with redactions, whether records documenting governance training or corrective actions exist, and who conducted the investigation. As of publication, the district had not responded to any follow-up questions.