Coupeville School Board member fined for non-disclosure

The state Public Disclosure Committee has fined Coupeville School Board Vice President Cecil Stuurmans $100 for his repeated failure to submit a current Statement of Financial Affairs.

Stuurmans said Thursday that he filed the report with the PDC “a long time ago,” and that “what they did with it, I don’t know.” He added that it’s “not unusual” for reports to be lost by government agencies.

“That’s the only thing that I can think of,” Stuurmans said.

The report was originally due on April 16.

Doug Ellis, director of Public Outreach for the PDC, said that Stuurmans was notified twice, first by postcard and then by letter, of his failure to comply with state law, but he did not respond. Nor did he file a report. Ellis also pointed out that Stuurmans was offered the opportunity to pay a $50 penalty and avoid a hearing.

Stuurmans made a written request for a review by the full commission, but it was denied at a PDC hearing in Olympia on July 30.

Stuurmans said that he was not present at the hearing.

“It’s a pain in the rear to file it in the first place,” said Stuurmans of such financial disclosure reports, which are required of public officials under RCW 42.17.240.

Stuurmans said that he does believe such reports are important “so the public knows what’s going on,” though he added that he has not kept copies of the report he claims to have filed.

“I don’t keep copies of that stuff,” Stuurmans said. “It’s just not something that I do.”

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