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Panel says officials weren�t violators By Tony Boom ASHLAND � Two Ashland School District officials did not violate election laws, ruled the state�s Election Division Office. And school board members named in the same complaint may engage in political activity at any time, the ruling said. Superintendent Juli Di Chiro and Ashland High School Principal Julie Reynolds were accused of promoting the successful mayoral candidacy of board member Alan DeBoer by attending his press conference Oct. 20, 2000. The ethics complaint was filed in November by Paul Copeland, head of the Campaign for School Tolerance, who said that Di Chiro and Reynolds attended the event during work hours in violation of campaign statutes. He also said board members DeBoer, Dan Thorndike, Ken Provost and Terry Littleton required or encouraged the administrators to engage in political actions by attending the press conference. Oregon election statutes were not violated because nothing in Di Chiro�s or Reynolds� conduct or statements at the conference amounted to advocacy for or against a candidate or measure, the ruling said. "It�s nice to have it behind us. I felt certain we hadn�t made any campaign violations," said Di Chiro. "I�m glad that we can get focused back on teaching and learning and the important things." Regarding school board members named in the complaint, Di Chiro said, "The law is fairly clear that as elected officials, they have the right to endorse candidates. There really didn�t seem to be any violation." Di Chiro said the investigation didn�t appear to focus on whether she or Reynolds had been directed to attend by board members. "I�m happy with the ruling. I think these things often come down to somebody�s judgment, and in my opinion the judgment was good," said Littleton, school board chair. "I thought they seemed to do a thorough review of the issues (in order) to render a decision. I felt good they had covered the relevant information." DeBoer held the press conference to dispute information about the school district placed in newspaper ads by Copeland�s organization. Board members and administrators said they attended the event to clarify issues raised in the ads. "It was a technicality as to whether it was a campaign violation or not," said Copeland. "The fact remains it was an Alan DeBoer press conference and it wasn�t an appropriate forum for the school board or school officials to discuss school issues." Copeland said the technicality is that Di Chiro and Reynolds were there in an impartial capacity to discuss school issues. "Clearly the fact remains that it was an ethically borderline issue for the school board to not only attend but to participate in a campaign for mayor," said Copeland. "(The information) could have been presented in a really impartial way such as a press release or they could have invited the press over to the school office to discuss the issues." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.