High school board to consider censure of Opinski

Greg Opinski, a prominent contractor and Merced Union High School District board member accused of bribery, will face possible censure by his fellow trustees during a meeting scheduled for next week.

The possible action concerns behavior Opinski is said to have displayed toward district administrators during a confrontation at the body’s office Aug. 25.

An item on the board’s agenda for its meeting Wednesday shows trustee Dora Crane requested a resolution for censure, which includes a direction that Opinski must go through Superintendent Alan Peterson if he wishes to meet with district staff.

The proposed resolution describes a meeting between Opinski and Chief Business Officer John Olson on Aug. 25 during which Opinski demanded access to the district’s email server and then cursed when Olson refused.

Opinski and Olson were scheduled to meet that afternoon to discuss the district’s settlement offer of $457,451 in connection with the Golden Valley High stadium project Opinski worked on, according to the resolution.

Opinski, owner of OP Development and Opinski Construction, in 2012 filed a lawsuit against the district after he was sued by a subcontractor on the stadium project. Opinski argues in his lawsuit that the district should pay the subcontractor and the attorney fees he incurred fighting the case, which claims the subcontractor was not paid for the work.

During the meeting with Olson, Opinski brought along a man he said was good with technology, asking for access to the email server. When Olson denied him access, Opinski became angry, cursing and saying he was entitled to the information under the California Public Records Act, the resolution says.

Olson said he believes Opinski wanted access to the server to obtain communication between lawyers and former administrators regarding another case in which Opinski sued the district for $1.3 million in connection to a Livingston High project, the resolution shows. The case still is active.

The resolution says Opinski threatened the superintendent and his job. “Alan has pissed me off one time and he better not piss me off a second time because he doesn’t want a trustee sitting on his board who controls his future,” Opinski said, according to the resolution.

Crane said the idea that one trustee would use their power to fire the superintendent was “ridiculous.”

“He’s one of five votes,” Crane said of Opinski.

The resolution says Opinski’s behavior was hostile, intimidating and included frequent profanity. By the time the meeting ended, Opinski indicated the district’s settlement offer was too little and he planned to seek nearly $1 million.

The conduct was designed to benefit Opinski’s personal financial interests, the resolution said.

“Our position on the school board is not about personal gain,” Crane said in a phone interview. “It’s about doing the right thing for students, the community and employees. In no way should any of us profit.”

In October 2015, interim Superintendent Ed Felt penned a letter to Opinski warning him against similar behavior, citing conflict-of-interest laws, the resolution says.

Crane said censuring Opinski is the right thing to do. “To think you’re privy to look at the server just because you want to – that’s just wrong,” she said.

Opinski was arrested Aug. 29 and is accused of paying off at least one trustee of the Los Banos Unified school board in connection with the controversial expansion of Mercey Springs Elementary School, according to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office.

District officials declined to comment on the agenda item until after the board takes action. Opinski did not return a phone message left by the Merced Sun-Star.

The censure requires a majority vote and will be open to public comment at the meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Atwater High School, 2201 Fruitland Ave.

This story was originally published September 9, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "High school board to consider censure of Opinski."