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Lompoc school board member voted his wife raises

March 24, 2016
Bill & Tina Christen

Bill & Tina Christen

A Lompoc school board member who is married to the district’s special education director voted for pay raises for district administrators. Board member Bill Christen may have to reimburse the district about $26,000. [KSBY]

Board President Steve Straight said he was made aware in January that Christen’s votes created a conflict of interest and possibly violated the law. California law requires board members to recuse themselves if they or an immediate family member have a financial interest in an agenda item.

Straight said the district’s legal counsel is working to recoup the money Christen’s wife received in raises. Straight is not seeking any other punitive action, and Christen will remain on the board.

Christen, a former police officer, has retained an attorney who is in talks with the district’s legal counsel.

The money Christen’s wife received in raises totals approximately $26,000. If the school district recoups the money, it will go into the general fund.

Before Christen joined the school board, he authored a letter to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office alleging a culture of corruption within the school district.


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This is news?


EVERY school district has crap like this going on.


Family members getting hired.


Board members with family members as employees.


Money spent on junkets and conferences.


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This is done all of the time, that is why a democracy has a life cycle. Government votes themselves job security thence better pay, an example would be a staff recommendation brought to the Board of Supervisors for passage. Sound ok until you learn that the staff recommendation is about job security, not a request by the public. The list goes on and on, voting for job security is just one example.


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Remember this the next time teacher threaten to strike unless they get more money from the taxpayers instead of going after the real problem, administration.


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Yes, there is rampant malfeasance at every level of government, but I think the bigger question here is What in the world does someone do to get a $26,000 raise!? Even if one is over-paid to the tune of $100,000 a year as an administrator, that’s a 26% raise! WTF, government slugs?!


I know a lot of people struggling to just make $26,000 a year all by itself – and they often still have to pay for various schooling necessities.


NEVER throw money at a problem. NEVER give government money to “solve” a problem. NEVER. EVER. I do not care if they list “poor, blind, homeless children” as the reason they want more, NEVER give it to them. They have more than enough; more than is sustainable (hear that greenies?); more than is even remotely reasonable.


…and the icing on the cake? A double-dipper. Nice. Quality people here.


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Well for one he should have realized he had a potential conflict. Two didn’t staff recognize his potential conflict and made him away of that, and three would it have made any difference if he had recused himself. And it has been mentioned but just how much were the raises and how much does she make that resulted in a $26,000 over 2 years.


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I hope no one is shocked at this; This is the way it works. It’s time to put an outsider on the inside and put a stop to this crap.


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Another over-paid school administrator who wants more $$ while parents are constantly hit up for basic classroom necessities. Kids lose out on “extras” like field trips, music programs and art supplies but a special ed director gets a pay/benefits raise of $26K?!


How about the special ed teachers and parents divvy up the $26,000 and use the funds for needed supplies?


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Politicians allege corruption until the day they take office, then they hide corruption, usually their own.


Was it simply an oversight for him not to recuse himself from voting on the raises? Hard to believe as the law couldn’t be more clear.


The District is “trying” to recoup the money, but there will be no punishment for him breaking the law and he keeps his seat? Really?


He’s either incompetent or corrupt. Shouldn’t either of those disqualify him from serving further?


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You have to love these politicians. Runs on corruption and then…..oh well, words cannot express all this evil!


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So what he was really saying was “I’m in!!”


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