The offices of the Douglas County School District are located in the historic Minden School.
Allegations of favoritism, nepotism, retaliation, intimidation, harassment, sexual misconduct, grooming, bullying and hazing within the Douglas County School District was investigated in November and the findings were brought before the board during the May 21 meeting.
During the meeting interim Superintendent Jeannie Dwyer said the report was received at about 3:14 p.m. on May 21 and was added to the agenda for information only at that time, then would be posted to the school district website within 24 hours for public consumption.
“There’s no names mentioned, and I think it’s fit for public consumption and it’s not as bad as everyone thinks,” said attorney Joey Gilbert. “As a matter of how we conducted this, we did it right. Everyone was briefed on it and we said a final report would come out.”
Because of the lack of information and timing, board members voted to postpone the reading of the report until the June meeting, which passed with trustees Carey Kangas, Yvonne Wagstaff, Linda Gilkerson, and Doug Englekirk in favor.
“As a board member, I never authorized this investigation, I’ve never been presented with a formal complaint, or any concrete evidence associated with this investigation and I believe there is an obligation to present this to the board before there is any public presentation or recommendations that might involve any types of special interest or hearsay,” said Kangas.
According to the report, Nevada law firm Marquis Aurbach Chtd. was appointed to serve as Special Counsel for the Douglas County School District and Board of Trustees to conduct an “exhaustive and unbiased” investigation primarily focusing on sexual harassment complaints made by 11 female employees against a male DCSD employee.
In regard to the allegations, special counsel investigated whether there were violations of state and federal law in which parties involved were mandated to report, investigate, and resolve such matters and failed to do so and/or whether there was interference, disruption, and impartial, incomplete or ineffective investigations related to the allegations.
The investigation led to detailed conclusions and recommendations which were provided in a confidential special counsel report to DCSD counsel.
Because of attorney-client privilege, the personal and confidential nature of the complaints, and the potential ongoing investigations, the special report cannot be released to the public.
Next week, a hearing is scheduled in a records case against four school board trustees. A change in counsel could result in a delay, though.
