A private meeting between three Clatsop Community College Board members, former college president Chris Breitmeyer and former state Sen. Betsy Johnson in May to discuss fundraising to remodel the college’s maritime building has drawn questions about transparency.

Ed Johnson, the college board chairman, and board members Jody Stahancyk and Mitra Vazeen met at Stahancyk’s Gearhart home on May 31 and consulted with Breitmeyer and Betsy Johnson, with the former state senator and gubernatorial candidate participating via Zoom.

The state has promised up to an $8 million match for the maritime building project, but has extended the deadline several times for the college to raise sufficient funds. A fundraising drive before the coronavirus pandemic fell well short of expectations and spending on the project has been cited by some as a factor in the college’s financial difficulties.

In May, the college board met with the college foundation’s board to discuss strategies for a capital campaign. At that meeting, the two boards agreed to form a committee to look into hiring a consultant to help raise money.

A complaint submitted Wednesday by college board member Tim Lyman argues that the private meeting at Stahancyk’s home was a violation of board policy regulating communications among board members.

“Negotiations were conducted with Chris Breitmeyer and others under color of Board of Education business,” Lyman wrote. “Neither this meeting, nor any of the actions taken during it were previously approved by the Board of Education.”

Lyman could not immediately be reached for comment. His complaint is scheduled to come before the college board at a meeting on Thursday.

Representatives of the college’s chapter of the Oregon School Employees Association also wrote a letter to the college board noting concerns with the private meeting.

Four members are required to form a quorum of the seven-member college board.

“While our understanding is a quorum was not established at this meeting, we believe this is problematic of our college’s core values of collaboration with transparent communication and integrity,” the union’s letter said.

The union also cited the best practices outlined by the Oregon Department of Justice for public meetings, which discourage gatherings of less than a quorum for the purpose of conducting business to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

In response to questions from The Astorian, Stahancyk said she did not consider the topics discussed at the private meeting to be college board business.

“I was told the first day I got on the board, when I asked how were we going to raise the money, that it wasn’t our job, not the board’s job,” she said of the maritime building project. “And so, since it’s apparently not a board activity, I figured that it’s just finding out where to go and who to talk to for what the grant might look like.”

Ed Johnson said he did not intend for the private meeting to be under the table.

“I’ve certainly made mistakes in my life, but it wasn’t any secret thing,” he said. “I immediately afterwards went and talked to (interim college president Teena Toyas) and let her know that this wasn’t going to be some rogue committee that had nothing to do with the college, and everything had to go through her. So to me that seems legitimate.”

“It wasn’t like we were committing the board to anything,” he added. “It was just some individuals trying to see if they could help.”