ICOE board outraged over Grand Jury breach
In Independence on Monday, the Inyo County Office of Education Board met in a special public meeting to consider a letter to Inyo County Superior Court Judges Brian Lamb and Dean Stout protesting the confidentiality breach of a current Inyo County Grand Jury member, Foreman Larry Clark, in an article to The Inyo Register in which he claimed Superintendent Dr. Terry McAteer was under investigation for a series of allegations that the newspaper had previously published. The Board says the allegations are unfounded and slanderous.
The letter to Judge Lamb and Judge Stout states:
On behalf of the Inyo County Board of Education, we request that you launch an investigation into the Inyo County Grand Jury. Based on the front page article on Saturday, February 21st in the Inyo Register newspaper and the same article published on Tuesday, February 24th in the Nevada County Union
newspaper, we believe a serious breach of secrecy and confidentiality has occurred within that entity. This breach certainly undermines the credibility of the Civil Grand Jury and, in the process, damaged the fine reputation of our County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Terence K. McAteer. Furthermore, it has tainted and clouded the topics which the County Superintendent and Civil Grand Jury had discussed in the past.
Therefore, we request:
• The juror or jurors who breached the secrecy and confidentiality oath be named, immediately removed from the jury panel and, potentially, charged with a misdemeanor per California Penal Code 924.1—“Any grand juror who willfully discloses any evidence adduced before a grand jury is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
• Completely void any testimony and details regarding Superintendent McAteer’s topics before the 2014/2015 Civil Grand Jury as they are now tainted and clouded beyond reason.
• Publicly report what actions have been take as to regain the credibility and stature of the Inyo County Civil Grand Jury.
Cordially, Chris Langley
Inyo County Board of Education
The Board unanimously approved the letter.
The furor over allegations made by The Inyo Register against McAteer began in January with a charge that he had made a racist remark during a Bishop High School faculty members meeting. Since then, allegations have escalated, with charges of nepotism, cronyism, ageism, misuse of a County vehicle by McAteer’s wife, and charges of extravagant spending on trips and receptions, all of which McAteer firmly denied in an interview published in The Sheet last Friday.
This is the second letter that the ICOE Board has sent protesting McAteer’s treatment by The Inyo Register. The first letter was sent to the Nevada County Union newspaper after it reprinted a Register article alleging a grand jury investigation into misconduct by McAteer. The ICOE Board fired off a letter to the Union newspaper accusing The Inyo Register of making false allegations and slander against the popular and, considered by many, very successful County Superintendent. The Board listed a number of successes that Inyo County schools have enjoyed under McAteer’s tenure.
Particularly disturbing to Board members is that the Nevada County Union newspaper is located in Grass Valley, CA, McAteer’s former hometown, where he lived with his family and served as the Superintendent of Schools for many years.
When asked at Monday’s Special Board Meeting about accusations of “stonewalling” made by The Inyo Register, McAteer said they were “putting together the information since getting the request within the 10-working days allowed by law and it will be available by next Tuesday.” What, if anything, can be made of that information once it is provided to The Inyo Register in its allegations against McAteer remains to be seen, but the School Board appears to confident that he will be vindicated.
