Silver State principal threatens lawsuit

The director of a public charter school threatened Wednesday to take legal action against a former board member for comments made at Monday's board meeting.

Steve Knight, director and principal of Silver State Charter School, said he was libeled and slandered by a letter written by Dan Shirey.

In the letter read into the record by current board member Steve Silva, Shirey listed several events he said violated legal and ethical boundaries. Shirey was out of town and could not attend the meeting.

"You have a director who has ethical and criminal violation issues," Shirey wrote.

Knight's attorney, Robert Grayson, sent Shirey a letter demanding he cease and desist or face legal trouble.

The problem, Grayson said, was the use of the word "criminal" rather than "illegal."

A Nevada Department of Education report states that Knight engaged in illegal behavior when he purchased a truck for the school from his daughter-in-law. Nevada law prohibits a school administrator from granting advantages to a relative.

According to the report, the purchase of the truck was not authorized by the governing board. It was also determined the school's administration failed to compare prices and bid out the purchase of the truck.

"The department has determined the purchase of the 2006 Ford F-350 pickup truck to be an illegal and unethical purchase," it says.

"(Shirey) can't misrepresent the facts," Grayson said. "He can't say something is a crime when it is not. If he does, then it is libel or slander."

The Silver State Charter School is set to be reviewed today by the Nevada State Board of Education. The state education department is recommending Silver State's charter not be renewed.

Shirey said the cease and desist letter was an attempt to silence opposition at the meeting.

"I did misquote the report, and I was wrong," he said. "But it appears by his actions that he is trying to squelch information. All I'm trying to do is bring to light information that is already public so people can make the right decision in moving forward with the school."

Knight said he did not want to elaborate on the cease and desist letter.

"Mr. Shirey made statements that were libel and slander as determined by my attorney," he said.

And this may not be the end of it.

"If (Shirey) makes a further issue of this, he's probably going to get another letter from my attorney," Knight said.

The Nevada Department of Education issued a lengthy report on April 15 listing violations ranging from the unauthorized truck purchase to failure to adhere to policies and bylaws.

The Silver State governing board passed a series of bylaws Monday in hopes of remedying the problems before today's meeting where a decision will be made whether to renew the charter.