Pasco Schools Respond to Citizen Claims of Campaign, Other Violations

Over the last three years, the Pasco School District and a citizen have locked horns on a number of issues, culminating with some investigating done by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). Tuesday, the district issued a statement on the matter.

Back in 2013, Roger Lenk submitted a 25-page complaint, containing several hundred pages of exhibits. He claimed the district violated campaign finance laws because of wording contained in surveys, and through other activities he claimed were trying to influence voters to vote favorably for levies and other school operation procedures. He also made other allegations of misdeeds by the district.

The PDC dismissed a complaint he also filed in 2015, but decided the 2013 merited an investigation. The PDC determined one question from a 2011 survey and one from 2013 were what is called in-admissible, or inappropriate to be asking citizens. According to the district, those were the only two items found to be at issue according to the PDC, from the various complaints made by Lenk.

The two questions were:

• When would you recommend the board run another bond to request voter approval (requires 60%) to build new schools? (2011) and • The April 2011 bond election failed. Would you be willing to support a revised bond election that would cost substantially less?” (2012).

The surveys were sent out, according to the district, in order to determine public input and opinions and how to respond to enrollment growth.

The school district released a statement as well saying they cooperated fully with the PDC, and also said at the time of the surveys, there were no pending levies or elections.