As a special election for the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) draws closer, one candidate has accused the district and the San Luis Obispo County Department of Education of colluding against him.
“Being a retired career Marine colonel, I believe in the rule of law,” school board candidate Kenney Enney told New Times. “They have to follow it, and you cannot allow a situation to occur where potentially you have government resources being used to target political foes.”Â
Enney’s accusations against the district stem from a petition started by community members late last year, which quickly gained enough signatures to kick him out of his appointed seat on the dais and warrant a special election that will take place on April 18. Enney, who’s running against Angela Hollander to reclaim his seat, filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) on Feb. 27, in which he accused County Superintendent of Schools James Brescia, Paso Robles Superintendent Curt Dubost, and petition organizer Carey Alvord of unlawfully using government funds to target Enney.
“Dubost aided the rapid qualification of the petition and has conducted an ongoing effort using district resources attempting to suppress complainant Kenneth Enney’s use of campaign materials containing a public logo of the school district,” Enney’s FPPC complaint states.
In February, the district threatened legal action against Enney if he didn’t take down his campaign signs, which illegally featured the school district’s logo.Â
“The district did not authorize using its logo for these purposes and does not support or endorse any candidate for elective office,” the district stated in a Feb. 27 press release.
While the district didn’t specify the candidate in question, Enney told New Times that Dubost had “complained” about Enney’s use of the district’s oak tree logo on his original campaign signs. Dubost didn’t return requests for comment before press time.
In his FPPC complaint, Enney alleged that the county and district illegally used public funds to oust him from the board of trustees and failed to report these expenditures as political contributions. Petition organizer Alvord told New Times that no district resources were used in the petition process.
Although Enney referred to a series of public records requests for email correspondence between Dubost, County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano, Alvord, and County Superintendent Brescia to prove there was a misuse of government funds, the FPPC dismissed Enney’s complaint. The March 2 dismissal states that Enney’s complaint doesn’t fall under the commission’s purview.
The FPPC’s dismissal hasn’t deterred Enney, who told New Times that he is working with his lawyers to revise and resubmit the complaint.
Enney, who was originally appointed to fill the remainder of Chris Bausch’s term, was ousted from his school board seat in December after Enney posted controversial statements about LGBTQ-plus and transgender youth on the conservative PRotect Paso Facebook page. His recent claims against the district have driven away some supporters, like former school board President Chris Arend, who recently lost his reelection bid.Â
Arend served on the board of trustees when Enney was appointed and encouraged him to apply for the job. In an open letter to voters, Arend explained his change of heart was partly due to Enney’s “hostile attitude” toward Paso’s superintendent.Â
“I saw absolutely no improper use of school district resources or bias on the part of either the PRJUSD or the county,” Arend wrote in the letter. “Both Superintendent Dubost as well as Superintendent Brescia took legal advice throughout the process, maintained strict neutrality, and played it by the book.”
Hollander lauded Arend’s change of heart and told New Times that it was “refreshing” to see someone realize an error in judgment.
“I am of the belief that people should sit down and discuss issues,” Hollander said. “You may not agree, but then we can agree to disagree as opposed to shouting at one another.” Δ
This article appears in Mar 9-19, 2023.