To hide workplace bullying findings, WCSD burns through more taxpayer dollars: Editorial

The RGJ Editorial Board | Reno Gazette-Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption What we know about the WCSD investigation The Washoe County School District has paid at least $48,000 to investigate allegations of bullying by top officials.

Late last year, a memo from Washoe County School District Deputy Superintendent Kristen McNeill revealed accusations of bullying against two top-level executives overseeing the special education department — Chief Student Services Officer Byron Green and Jenny Ricci, the former principal of Hunsberger Elementary.

District Judge Jerome Polaha ordered WCSD to hand over records related to the bullying investigation last month, but so far, the district has refused. The RGJ Editorial Board thinks this is a tremendous waste of the district’s legal fees.

WCSD spent $48,000 with Solutions at Work – a human resources firm, not a law firm – to conduct its investigation into the bullying accusations. The district is trying to withhold documents by claiming the human resources firm’s report constitutes attorney-client privilege. This is an attempt to lay the groundwork for a chilling precedent under which the district could try to shield any inconvenient or embarrassing documents.

More: Judge orders Washoe school district to hand over records from bullying investigation

More: Mom says school district secrecy over bullying erodes parents’ trust

More: School board votes to appeal court-ordered release of an internal investigation

We know that months after the investigation was completed, Green has retained his position, while Ricci is no longer with the district. Did the investigation have an impact on high-level staffing within the district? Did the investigation exonerate Green? Did Ricci leave of her own accord, or was she dismissed?

And this isn’t just a matter of determining whether adults were dealing with a potentially hostile work environment, or if the incident was simply a case of workplace politics run amok. McNeill’s memo notes that student records were part of the investigation — which raises even further questions about the investigation’s scope.

The court order allows for personal information to be redacted. The RGJ Editorial Board agrees; naming the accused, the alleged victims or the students isn’t in anyone’s best interests. But Washoe residents should know whether parents of the students were aware of the investigation, or were kept in the dark like the rest of us.

The district is appealing the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court, which will rack up even more legal fees to hide the investigation’s findings from the general public. We don’t know if the WCSD will have any more luck with the Nevada Supreme Court than it did with Polaha’s courtroom. To be honest, we’re not even sure if that’s the point of the appeal. Instead, it looks like a cynical attempt to delay the release of the records for another few months, all at the taxpayers’ further expense.

More: How to submit an opinion column or letter to the editor