OCEANSIDE — The California Fair Political Practices Commission fined the Oceanside Unified School District $4,000 last month for violating the state Political Reform Act after sending a mass mailing, paid for with taxpayer funds, to district residents featuring school board members who were up for election in 2020.
The fine followed a complaint from Oceanside resident and activist Todd Maddison, a parent of a former student, who alleged that OUSD violated the act by sending the mailing in September 2024. His complaint also referenced a “similar mailing” from October 2020.
For now, FPPC staff found only the 2020 mailing to be in violation.
In October 2020, the OUSD Board of Trustees elected Mike Blessing, Stacy Begin, Eric Joyce (now Oceanside deputy mayor), Eleanor Evans, and Raquel Alvarez as officers. The trustees were featured in an eight-page, 8.375-inch by 10.875-inch, full-color, two-sided newsletter sent to all Oceanside residents.
The publication highlighted district information, including the number of schools, student-to-teacher ratios, learning options, various programs and social media details.
The newsletter included trustees’ names, titles and photographs. Under the Political Reform Act, sending a newsletter or other mailing at public expense that features an elected officer — including through the use of names, offices, photographs or other references — is prohibited.
In November and December 2020, the school board authorized two payments totaling $40,132 for the newsletter. Those payments were included among 760 line items totaling $14.74 million in the “Ratification of Warrant List,” a routine agenda item used to approve district expenditures.
According to the FPPC stipulation summary, board members were not aware of the newsletter before it was mailed and were not notified that their photos would be included.
The executive assistant to the superintendent said the newsletter was “sent to provide the community with information about OUSD such as art programs, academic programs, athletic programs, and more,” with the intent to “familiarize the community with the exciting offerings” within the district.
The maximum penalty for the violation is $5,000. While the FPPC noted that such mailers may unfairly benefit a featured elected official — particularly to a “high degree” when that official appears on an upcoming ballot — the harm was “slightly mitigated” because only one trustee, Blessing, was on the 2020 ballot.
Maddison ran against Blessing that year.
The stipulation also notes that three other trustees were up for election in 2022, and the remaining trustees in 2024. Four of the five trustees — Begin, Alvarez, Blessing and Evans — have been successfully re-elected since the 2020 newsletter was sent.
According to the summary, OUSD had no prior record of similar violations and cooperated with the investigation, intending to “resolve the matter expeditiously.” The district agreed to the $4,000 penalty.
“It was a simple accident made in 2020,” OUSD Director of Communications Donald Bendz said via email. “We were not aware of all of the FPPC rules.”
Maddison and several others criticized the district for the violation and thanked the FPPC for taking action.
During the commission’s Nov. 20 meeting, Maddison alleged that school administration sought to promote “friendly candidates” who would grant them raises.
“Those who follow K-12 politics know what a ‘me too’ raise is. K-12 administrators in charge of negotiating labor contracts benefit directly from a process where the same percentage raise negotiated is now applied to their compensation,” Maddison said. “While telling the community that they’re negotiating for the best deal to educate our kids, in reality, they’re negotiating their own raise.”
He called the $4,000 penalty a “drop in the bucket.”
“The district has no qualms about taking money away from our kids’ education to benefit itself,” he said. “I’m sure they’ll simply cut the budget from new library books or bathroom maintenance to fund it, but at least it sends a message that this behavior is not tolerable and the fppc will now allow it.”
Emily Ortiz Wichmann and Rosie Higuera, school board candidates in 2024 who lost to incumbents Evans and Blessing, also criticized the board.
“They are a rogue school board that is above the law,” Higuera said.
Higuera also accused Superintendent Julie Vitale and the board of pushing a “pro-LGBTQ agenda.”
Wichmann, who served on the board for 24 years until 2018, said the commission’s action sends a message “that they cannot break or skirt the law.”
Marci Strange, another critic who accused the board of “pushing gender ideology,” demanded that Blessing and Evans resign and receive the “maximum penalties.”
“I wish they could get jail time too,” she said.
The $4,000 fine was the smallest amount considered by the FPPC in November.
“We are pleased with the outcome given that additional false allegations brought against us were found by the FPPC to be untrue,” Bendz said on behalf of the district. “We made the adjustment to our process moving forward and have learned from this situation.”
