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In 2016, the Waukee school board voted to suspend its chief operating officer, Eric Rose, for two weeks after an internal investigation found he was misusing district resources to benefit himself and his family.

Two-and-a-half years later, a state audit cited the same misconduct. But this time, the board asked Rose to resign instead of being fired.

Board members have said they weren't given extensive information or told how serious the allegations were against Rose when they met in a closed session on July 11, 2016, to decide whether he should be punished or fired.

But in sworn depositions, the current and former Waukee superintendent say board members received an eight-page executive summary at that 2016 meeting that lays out the same accusations documented in a recent state audit, a Des Moines Register investigation has found.

Rose admitted to many of the allegations, the summary says. The summary was one piece of a monthslong internal investigation by Two Solutions LLC, which the Waukee Community School District hired to look into allegations against Rose.

That confidential summary, obtained by the Register, is more truncated than some of the details in the audit. But those same details can be found in the full report of the school district's internal investigation.

Yet the school board was not given a copy of the full document in 2016, and its members did not ask to review it before deciding Rose's fate, the Register found.

The revelations come as the Waukee school board faces rising criticism over its failure to act more aggressively when the chief operating officer's misconduct was first disclosed.

Board president Wendy Liskey admits board members should have asked more questions.

"We are sorry for the impact our employees, students and community have felt as a result of our decision," Liskey said in an emailed statement. "We made a judgment regarding Eric Rose's employment in July 2016 based on what we knew at the time.

"… In hindsight, the entire board should have requested more information before making a decision."

Liskey maintains that the board received only a verbal summary of Rose's misconduct, despite court documents and interviews indicating otherwise.

Rose now faces three felony charges for allegedly altering an employee's time card and directing another employee to do the same.

He also faces a serious misdemeanor for allegedly violating the state's gift law. He faces up to 16 years in prison.

Rose has pleaded not guilty.

More:Waukee schools investigation: A timeline of how it all happened

How we got here

The investigation into Rose's misconduct was launched March 23, 2016, when then-Superintendent Dave Wilkerson and two board members met with the school district's attorney to go over a copy of a diary that the district's former human resources director wrote.

In the diary, Terry Welker outlines allegations other employees made against Rose dating back to Sept. 21, 2015. Welker also writes about employees being "summoned" to administrators' offices and later telling him they were "threatened" not to talk to human resources or the school board about Rose.

Wilkerson said in a sworn deposition that two board members, Mary Scheve and David Cunningham, read the diary and ultimately made the decision to investigate. Neither responded to the Register's request for comment.

Investigators reviewed school reports, emails and camera footage and conducted interviews with 15 employees, including Rose, throughout the monthslong investigation.

The resulting report, which runs hundreds of pages, states that Rose altered employee time cards, used school property at his home and solicited donations for his son's hockey team from district vendors.

The investigation culminated at that July 11, 2016, closed meeting, where Rose met with board members to go over the allegations against him. He was ordered to take two weeks of unpaid leave and reimburse his son's hockey team $2,000.

"I remember him admitting to — I don't know if it was all allegations — some of the allegations, maybe all of the allegations and there was some comments and he got — he was emotional," said Superintendent Cindi McDonald in a sworn deposition filed in a former employee's wrongful termination lawsuit. "He was choked up."

McDonald was associate superintendent at the time but was acting as board secretary during that meeting.

In the time since Rose was allowed to keep his job, nine employees interviewed as part of the internal investigation have resigned from the district.

Two former employees have filed wrongful termination lawsuits claiming they were forced to resign after Rose retaliated against them for cooperating with investigators. Nicholas Bavas settled his case for $175,000; Amy Patters' case is ongoing.

Another former employee, Welker, received a $985,000 settlement from the school district in lieu of a lawsuit. Welker, the former human resources director and a key witness in the internal investigation, claimed his job was eliminated after he turned over evidence to investigators and police.

Rose, in contrast, received two raises totaling $10,446 during that same time period. Before resigning, Rose earned $142,800.

► More:Waukee administrator altered time cards, used district property at home, reports say

Conflicting information

Exactly what the school board knew in 2016 about Rose's actions has been difficult to ascertain.

When the Register published its story in 2017 detailing allegations of misconduct, bullying and retaliation at the district's administrative office, McDonald responded with an email telling parents that the school board had "reviewed the findings of the independent investigation" before deciding Rose's punishment.

The board "determined that Mr. Rose’s decisions and errors in judgment did not warrant termination from a district where he had worked for more than 12 years," she wrote in the email.

In the weeks following the release of the state audit, board members have maintained that they received only a verbal summary of the investigation's findings.

Board members also told the state auditor that Wilkerson, who was superintendent at the time, prepared a synopsis of the report and presented the significant findings to the board.

But sworn depositions of Wilkerson and McDonald say otherwise.

Both told the attorney representing Bavas in his wrongful termination lawsuit that board members received copies of the eight-page executive summary included in the Two Solutions investigative report.

Wilkerson, who retired in January 2017, confirmed that information in a recent interview with the Register.

He also reiterated that he did not prepare the executive summary and that the district's attorney, James Hanks, went through the document "item by item" with the board at the closed meeting. Board members also were asked to turn in their copies at the meeting's conclusion, he said.

Moreover, Wilkerson said he had nothing to do with determining Rose's punishment — rebutting claims that board members and McDonald have made at least twice publicly since the internal investigation was made public.

Both McDonald and Wilkerson said in their sworn depositions that the school board was entirely responsible for the decision.

"I was removed from the process, and that was done purposefully because (Rose) was a direct report to me," Wilkerson said. "I didn't make any recommendation on Eric's status."

Exactly what was said and debated in the school board's July 11, 2016, closed meeting may never be publicly known. A recording of the closed meeting has been sealed by a judge's protective order in both Bavas' and Patters' civil cases.

► More:Waukee schools investigation: How we got here

What the summary says

The executive summary dedicates 4½ pages to its findings that Rose used school district property at home and used a district email address to solicit donations for his son's hockey team from at least nine district vendors. (The latter eventually led to a serious misdemeanor charge filed against Rose.)

Rose admitted it all, the executive summary said.

The summary devotes about half a page to Rose's alleged alteration of time cards, the finding that later led to felony charges against him.

It outlines interviews with district employees who said they knowingly processed inaccurate time cards. It also states that Rose admitted changing time cards to provide compensatory time to employees who performed "extra work."

"Rose knowingly changed a time card to reflect (the employee) working, when in fact he was not," the executive summary states.

Unlike the audit and full investigative report, the executive summary does not say how many times Rose changed time cards (allegedly at least four times), how much money the changes involved ($186.32 in wages) or that they involved employees allegedly delivering district equipment to Rose's home during work hours.

The three remaining pages outline accusations against Rose that the investigators could not corroborate, including allegations of improper hiring practices, derogatory language and attending a district event and driving a district vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

What board members say

Five of the current school board members were on the board at the time. The Register contacted each to seek comment about the executive summary's findings and their reasons for deciding to keep Rose at the time.

Liskey, the board president, responded on the board's behalf.

"Decisions of judgment can and will be questioned and mistakes can be made," she said in a statement. "The board acknowledges the decision that was made in 2016 regarding Rose's employment and punishment has negatively impacted the district.

"The board has always been made up of people who genuinely care about the Waukee district, and no decision has ever been made by the board with the intention of hurting the district."

In January 2018, board member Susan Bunz told the Register the school board did not believe Rose's actions rose to the level of firing. She attributed his use of district property at home to a lack of understanding of appropriate conduct.

"That goes from being a small district to a large district very quickly," she said at the time.

Rose began working for Waukee schools in 2004 after working as an account executive for Johnson Controls.

Bunz said the school board went over the Fair Labor Standards Act and advised Rose — as well as other district employees — that compensatory time is a violation of federal law.

"None of this rose to (his firing), and had it, a different action would have been taken," said Bunz, a former employment rights lawyer.

► More:Audit details $130,000 in improper spending, culture of mistrust in Waukee school district

Executive summary vs. audit

The board saw it differently when Rose was placed on paid administrative leave Dec. 7, one day after the state audit was released.

The audit is highly detailed, outlining the allegations against Rose, what investigators found in 2016 and how many of his alleged actions were a violation of district policy or state law.

But a Register review found that it mirrors most of the findings of the district's full investigation.

For example, the audit outlines instances in which Rose allegedly drove his district vehicle with the magnetic Waukee Community School District logo removed. That is not detailed in the executive summary, but it is in the full investigative report.

The audit also outlines Rose's son's alleged use of the district's batting cage facilities. That is not detailed in the executive summary, but the full investigative report said Rose admitted giving key card access to district buildings to his wife, son and vendors who work for the district.

New in the audit was documentation of $525 in international overages for Rose's cellphone, of which Rose paid back $240 at the request of accounting staff.

It also includes an interview with a district vendor who said he often took Rose to lunch.

"(The vendor) did not realize how the meals may be considered an improper practice for the district because purchasing meals for customers is a very common practice in their industry," the audit said.

In addition, the audit lists an email sent to Rose in July 2015 from a teacher requesting the use of district-owned risers at a camp that would be attended by Waukee students and students from other districts.

Rose denied the teacher's request, saying "it violates both board policy and Iowa code."

"As a result, it is clear Mr. Rose understood existing restrictions in 2015 and while he did not comply with them, he restricted the use of district equipment for certain individuals," the audit said.

The audit said the internal investigation cost taxpayers $11,000 plus $2,831 in legal fees, and the lawsuits filed since have cost $7,722 in legal fees.

Rose ultimately resigned in lieu of termination Dec. 17. According to the district, Rose was asked to resign because of "lost of trust and confidence of the administration and board, ineffective leadership and failure to fully cooperate in a state investigation."

The district agreed to pay him his earned vacation, totaling 29.5 days, or about $16,200.

Board member Jerry Ripperger, who, along with Lori Lyon, was not on the school board in 2016, said it's difficult to say what could or should have been done differently then.

"We also can't simply separate what was known at the time from what is known now. This situation has clearly illustrated the need for better information and greater transparency," he said. "… Our work is not done."

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The Des Moines Register's reporting of the allegations of misconduct at the Waukee school district helped spur the state audit that eventually resulted in criminal charges. The Register obtained access to previously unpublished documents and interviews for this story, shedding new light on the district's actions.

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