The Grossmont Union High District board on Thursday will decide whether to censure Trustee Jim Kelly for his alleged disclosure of confidential information as part of an effort to influence district policy.
The proposed censure resolution said, among other things, that Kelly disclosed confidential, attorney-client privileged information to unauthorized people over a period of several months in 2026.
Specifically, the resolution alleges that Kelly engaged in an email exchange with a former California legislator in an attempt to influence district policy.
The resolution said Kelly sought to have the former legislator contact former California Republican Party Chair Jim Brulte, who is the spouse of Grossmont Union High Superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte.
Superintendent Brulte did not agree to an interview, but her office issued a statement that included the following:
“The Superintendent’s standard has always been clear: the District must operate in accordance with federal and state law, District policies, Board bylaws, and established procedures. To support that standard, she held multiple Governance Team workshops and an ethics training session last school year.”
In an interview with KPBS, teachers’ union President Stephanie Macecca said she agrees with the proposed censure.
“Teachers are trusted to hold that private information, trustees should be held to that exact same standard,” said Macecca, who used to be a teacher and librarian. “If I did something like this, if I revealed confidential information about a student, I would lose my job.”
The resolution goes on to say that Kelly’s emails also shared his frustrations about two of the board members who voted in favor of policy change regarding how school staff should respond to ICE actions on district campuses.
Board President Robert Shield proposed the censure resolution.
“Declining to act would be choosing to ignore clearly documented evidence. I trust that a majority of this Board and the vast majority of our community believe trustees must respect the laws and rules we are entrusted to uphold,” Shield said in a written statement.
Kelly did not respond to a KPBS request for comment.
The Grossmont Union High board has been under fire in recent years over budget decisions and librarian layoffs, immigration enforcement policies and anti-LGBTQ lawsuits.
This is also not the first time the board has faced scrutiny for improper communications.
A 2025 San Diego Union-Tribune investigation revealed private text threads that included members of the governing board’s conservative majority — Scott Eckert, Robert Shield, Gary Woods and Kelly.
The communications raised questions regarding whether board members were violating state open meetings laws.
Kelly, who has served on the board for 24 years, is up for reelection this November. Macecca hopes the proposed censure might impact how people vote.
“We need honest, transparent, trustworthy trustees who will maintain confidentiality. What happens in closed session should stay in closed session,” she said. “And when we have people who believe they can just flaunt that, or they can just not follow those policies and rules, then it's a serious problem and a breach of trust.”
Thursday’s board meeting featuring the proposed censure resolution will begin at 6 p.m. in the Grossmont High School auditorium.
