With a unanimous vote at Thursday’s regularly-scheduled meeting, the Alba-Golden School Board committed to hire an independent investigator for the purpose of investigating recent claims made against the district.
On the advice of district’s attorney John Hardy, the district intends to hire attorney Mari McGowan of Abernathy Roeder Boyd and Hullett based in McKinney. McGowan is experienced in school law and has previously served as the Chair of the State Bar of Texas School Law Section. She is also an experienced investigator.
The decision to hire an investigator coincided with an ongoing Level Three grievance brought to the board by current employee Nick Hallman. It also comes upon the filing of a grievance by Deborah Perry which shared many of the same attributes of the Hallman grievance.
Superintendent Shelby Davidson noted that when situations of potential conflict arise within the district, that the district often cannot respond publicly to the situation. “When it is necessary to have an independent investigator involved, we are certainly amenable to that,” he stated.
Hallman’s grievance was comprised of five points, four of which were discussed as action items in an open hearing, and one of which was discussed in a closed hearing. The basis of Hallman’s grievance was what he described as an inadequate response to a concern regarding alleged improper contact between an employee and a student.
Following a closed hearing, the board reconvened in open session and unanimously approved actions to address the first four parts of the grievance. The date of August 31 was set as the date by which the actions would be addressed within the district.
The four items were: mandatory training for employees, creation of an employee handbook, website transparency and public accessibility measures, and provisions for repayment of counseling expenses.
The fifth item, which could only be discussed in closed session, was directed to attorney Hardy for further action.
Long-time school supporter Deborah Perry and district resident B.J. Threldkeld offered unrelated public forum comments.
Perry’s grievance is centered on the belief that district reporting requirements and policies are applied selectively rather than universally, based on who was the subject of the event. Perry’s statement in open forum called for two actions: clearing of investigation against the high school counselor, and implementation of a clear, safe process for whistleblowers.Threldkeld’s comment in open forum also highlighted what he described as a culture of different rules, based on who was involved. He offered instances of perceived double jeopardy and retaliation against students who were involved in issues which threatened staff members. His examples were not the same as those mentioned by Perry or Hallman.
In unrelated actions, the board approved an annual agreement with UT Tyler for Clinical Field Experience, agreed to issue a Trading Authorization to Finance Director Beau Shelby for interaction with First Bankers’ Banc Securities, and approved adoption of the Texas Association of School Boards policy update 127.
The board also approved expenditure of $41,728 for carpet replacement in the elementary school library and office area, and in five secondary school classrooms.
Superintendent Davidson noted, during his monthly report, that all hiring actions for the upcoming school year are complete.
Trustee Terry Clark was the sole absentee.