Fellow trustee says Opinski should resign

At least one Merced Union High School District trustee is ready to call for the resignation of fellow board member Greg Opinski, who faces allegations that he bribed a Los Banos school trustee to win a construction contract.

Dora Crane, Area 4 trustee and vice president on the MUHSD board, told the Sun-Star on Thursday that, if the board were to request Opinski’s resignation, “I’d be ready to do it today.”

The 54-year-old owner of Greg Opinski Construction and a former candidate for the state Assembly 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.

Opinski was arrested on Monday and released on bond.

Richard Lopez, the MUHSD school board president, maintains that the board will carry on with business as usual until Opinski is convicted or decides to resign.

The school board held a special meeting Wednesday night with one open-session item, discussion of Opinski’s arrest, and one closed-session item, discussion of a lawsuit by Opinski that is pending against the district. Opinski did not attend the meeting and no action was taken.

Addressing Opinksi’s arrest, Lopez read from a prepared statement.

“Currently, we find ourselves in a place where no board wants to be,” he said “A board like ours, which continues to head in the direction that’s best for all, does not want this issue lingering over it.”

While Opinski has not been proved guilty, Lopez added, “any time that you have speculation of an elected public official participating behind the scenes with other public officials, and there is a tiny bit of inkling that there is an exchange of public funds for favors ... we have a problem, a problem that I believe none of us wants to be a part of.”

No other board members commented on the matter. Dave Honey and Phil Schiber, who represent Areas 2 and 3, respectively, did not return calls for comment on Thursday.

Opinski’s arrest on Monday also has revived questions about whether he lives in district Area 1, which he was elected to represent in 2014.

Authorities arrested Opinski at a home on Boulder Creek Court, part of the Rosetta Creek housing development owned by his company, which is in Area 4.

A woman who answered the door at the home on Wednesday confirmed Opinski lived there.

Opinski did not return a phone message seeking comment from the Sun-Star.

In January 2015, Opinski told the Sun-Star that he moved out of Area 1 due to his pending divorce.

Lopez said Opinski told the board in February 2016 he temporarily moved out of his district again.

The state education code and the district’s bylaws both require that trustees live in the district they represent.

Enforcing residency rules is a matter for the local district attorney, according to Troy Flint, a public information officer with the California School Board Association.

“If it’s proven they left the area they represent, they resign their seat,” Flint said.

But the question of intent leaves a large gray area, he said. It’s difficult to prove when a trustee does or doesn’t intend to remain in the district they represent.

Crane said she feels the ongoing residency issue is enough to ask for the resignation of Opinski, whose seat is not up for election until 2018.

“I think that’s grounds to take action,” she said. “I have to live in my district. I’m a middle-class person. I can’t play around with where I live.”

The board’s next meeting is Sept. 14.

Opinksi’s residency first came into question when he challenged sitting board member Ida Johnson in the 2014 election.

Johnson said Thursday she’d like to see some action taken against Opinski, adding she’s “appalled” he still “has the nerve” to live outside of Area 1.

“Where you reside is where you sleep. The state has made it very clear,” she said. “We have to set an example for our children. If you run for an elected office, your standards have to be higher. I hope the kids realize you can’t keep doing wrong and get away with it.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Fellow trustee says Opinski should resign."