Opinion
By Rich Lamken, 10-18-24
What is the role of a School Board Attorney? You would think, by definition, to counsel and advise the School Board, especially the Board Chair, right? Well, in the case of Brett Steger, the SB Attorney for the Nassau County School district, you would be wrong!
He has, three times, had to be confronted, by yours truly, to regain rights already granted to the public by Florida’s Sunshine Law.
- The right to speak prior to the vote on the consent agenda to encourage the SB to “pull” an item so that it can be considered by the Board separately.
- The right to speak on any Agenda item BEFORE it’s considered by the Board, discussed and voted upon.
- The right to speak at a Board Workshop.
He was also threatened by the owner of the 10-acre property, that the School District overpaid by millions of $ for, that “he better not interfere with the sale” because of the actions of his law practice partner.
Optics, matter. Steger sits next to and frequently offers counsel to the Superintendent but is distanced from both the Chair and Vice-Chair of the SB. They often must lean over one or two Board members just to get his attention!
Why, you say, does this matter?
During the Litigation matters workshop, held in September, Mr. Steger referenced new guidelines from the FL DOE that point the district to “overlook a specific reference in a book and instead focus on the entirety of the book” and he stated that, “using these new guidelines the vast majority of the books previously removed would not be removed today”.
The SB, following his counsel and his recommendation that is based on his statements that are nowhere to be found in the new guidelines, agreed to settle a lawsuit and return books, previously determined to violate Florida’s statutes on pornography, and most without age or grade restrictions.
There’s a huge problem, in that, these phases are nowhere to be found in the new guidelines and Steger provided me the guidelines he was referencing. I asked all the SB members if they actually saw and read the phrases that Steger quoted and whether that’s what convinced them to settle the law suit. None of them were willing to or desired to respond to my email.
On page 11 of the new guidelines, it says:
All materials in a school library or included on a reading list must be: 1. Free of Pornography which is defined as “the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.”
The books were removed under this criterion the first time. This is still the referenced criterion under the “new” guidelines.
Steger has an agenda re: these books and his insistence on settling the lawsuit. He previously tried to stifle attendees at SB meetings and prevent the public from exercising their rights under the Sunshine Law and helped to push through the purchase of the 10 acres which was, at best, questionable.
It’s time for the Nassau County School District to appoint a real School Board Counsel who supports the School Board and its leadership and informs them rather that being a cheerleader for the Superintendent and having his own jaded, misinformed agenda.
It’s also time for the public to express their outrage that the district has made available to students, at every grade level, books that have been and are deemed pornographic!
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Rich Lamken is retired and lives with his wife, Meg in Fernandina Beach. He is a retired Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Human Resources/Technology. He was the Schools Division Lead of Common-Sense, Fernandina Beach and is the President of the Baptist Nassau Hospital Auxiliary.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florid
