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A Waukee Community School District official at the center of a wrongful termination lawsuit fabricated employee time cards, used school property for personal use and solicited more than $3,000 in donations for his son’s hockey team from district vendors, according to a report from an investigation conducted on behalf of the district.

Eric Rose, the district's chief operating officer, admitted to violating district policies multiple times, according to the report, which was obtained by The Des Moines Register.

The Waukee Police Department, which conducted a criminal investigation into Rose's actions, found "probable cause to support an arrest," according to a separate report written by Sgt. Jeremy Long and obtained by the Register. But the Dallas County attorney declined to file charges, stating there was insufficient evidence to prevail in court.

Nicholas Bavas, the district's former operations manager, is suing the school district and Rose, who was his boss, claiming Bavas was forced to resign after blowing the whistle on the chief operating officer's alleged misdeeds.

The internal investigation accusing Rose of misconduct was conducted by the district in March 2016.

That investigation concluded that Rose kept a district snowblower at his home for eight months, had employees run errands for him while on the clock, provided his wife and son with key card access to district buildings and solicited donations for his son's hockey team from district vendors using his work email address, the report said.

Bavas first brought concerns about Rose's actions to district administrators in September 2015, according to his lawsuit. Bavas resigned in May 2017.

Since the investigation, four additional employees interviewed by school authorities as part of the investigation into Rose's conduct have either left the district of their own will or have been dismissed.

Rose heads the district's operations department, which maintains school facilities and oversees all new construction. He is the fourth highest-paid employee in the district. He earns an annual salary of $140,000 after receiving a 6 percent raise this year. Rose oversees five employees, including two department heads.

Waukee school district officials declined to answer specific questions related to the investigation, saying it would keep personnel records confidential. But in a statement, spokeswoman Nicole Lawrence said the district in the last year has added additional employee training on "general ethics in the workplace" and has updated several board policies "to clarify employee expectations."

"Sometimes an employee makes mistakes," she said. "When mistakes happen, Waukee Community School District follows the policies and procedures we have in place and works with our Board of Education to take appropriate actions."

Rose, who has been the chief operating officer since 2011, did not return several messages seeking comment. Before becoming chief operating officer, Rose was the director of operations for the district from 2004 to 2011.

Report: Rose admits wrongdoing

The Waukee school district hired Two Solutions, an Iowa private investigative agency, to look into Rose's activities after receiving complaints from several employees, the investigative report said.

Investigators reviewed school reports, emails and camera footage, the report said, and conducted interviews with 15 employees, including former Superintendent Dave Wilkerson.

According to the report, Rose admitted to many of the allegations made by employees, including:

Purchasing a snowblower with school district money eight months before the opening of Timberline Middle School in 2015 and keeping it at his home for personal use for approximately 30 days. Rose was quoted by investigators as saying he wanted to "test drive it" over the winter, though the snowblower was the exact same model used at every school in the district. When asked why, he told investigators, "I don’t know why, clearly it wasn’t mine ... it was probably not a good decision," the report said. Investigators said he also admitted to using other district snowblowers at his house on "several occasions."

Using a district-owned dehumidifier for one to two weeks to dry moisture in his basement and a district-owned floor fan for two days to dry his freshly shampooed carpet.

Borrowing a district generator to show his neighbor, who was considering purchasing one for use at Iowa State University tailgates. Investigators said it was "highly probable" that Rose actually used the generator at a tailgate, though they could not prove it, the report said.

Using district-owned tables and chairs on at least four occasions either at his home or at the homes of friends and neighbors. Twice he used the tables for rummage sales at his home.

Directing district employees to deliver and pick up the tables and chairs while on the clock, including on weekends. He offered them compensatory time or overtime.

Driving a district-owned vehicle on personal time.

Giving key card access to district buildings to his wife, son and vendors who work for the district.

Altering time cards for employees, allowing them to receive payment for hours they did not work.

And soliciting donations for his son's hockey team from district vendors using his district email address. Investigators said vendors contributed more than $3,000 to support the hockey team. Rose told investigators an unknown percentage of that money goes toward the cost he pays for his son to play on the team.

District documents and meeting minutes show the Board of Education met July 11, 2016, in a closed session to discuss the report and determine whether Rose would be disciplined.

The Waukee Community School District would not confirm whether Rose was punished as a result of the allegations. But according to a Waukee police report obtained by the Register, Wilkerson told Chief John Quinn that Rose was suspended and "had to pay back an unknown sum of money to the school."

Wilkerson "declined to share any further information or documents with Chief Quinn" about the consequences, the report said.

According to state records laws, the district can keep disciplinary records confidential. Iowa's law changed on Feb. 17, 2017, requiring governments to provide access to documents showing whether an employee resigned in lieu of termination, was discharged or was demoted as the result of disciplinary action.

The change in law would not apply to this case since Rose remains employed in the same position.

Police investigation launched

Waukee police were alerted to the allegations against Rose by a school district employee in August 2016, after the district completed its internal investigation.

Police conducted their own criminal investigation after the district refused to release the internal report to detectives.

City Attorney Steve Brick declined the Register's request for a copy of the police incidental and supplemental reports, citing confidential investigative records. The Register was given a copy of the report from a source close to the investigation.

Sgt. Long and County Attorney Wayne Reisetter discussed filing a subpoena for the district's report, but decided against it after the superintendent agreed to share certain pieces of information, the police report says.

More:Parents: Confrontation with Waukee administrators left child bruised, fearful of school

Police determined "there is clearly a misuse of the school equipment ... which is illegal," according to the report. Long also wrote that "it is very apparent" that Rose falsified time cards, but police were unable to determine whether Rose benefited from vendors "in a way that is not available to others."

"This investigation finds Rose is committing illegal acts, but the available evidence would most likely not rise to proving beyond reasonable doubt in a state court," the police report states.

Reisetter told the Register the allegations against Rose were "broad" and took extensive investigative resources to track. But ultimately the case did not rise to "criminal prosecution standards," meaning he didn't think he could obtain a criminal conviction, he said.

"I have an obligation as a prosecutor that if I file a charge against someone, I have to have a belief that a jury verdict of guilty would result," he said.

'High level of mistrust' in district

The Waukee school district's internal investigation also alleges a pattern of top-level administrators violating district policy without consequence and a culture in which those who raise concerns are met with punishment.

Investigators found a "high level of mistrust" between upper-level management, middle management and employees in the district's main office, the report said. Several employees reported they were afraid to speak up about allegations of misconduct for fear of retaliation.

"Some (employees) have indicated they feel trapped with no place to turn because of the friction between top level leadership and human resources," the report says.

Former Human Resources Director Terry Welker provided police and investigators with a diary detailing allegations against Rose dating back to Sept. 21, 2015.

Welker and his attorney declined to comment for this story. But in a copy of the diary obtained by the Register, Welker wrote about employees being "summoned" to administrators' offices and later advising him they were "threatened" not to talk to human resources or the school board about Rose.

He wrote that Cindi McDonald, then associate superintendent of school improvement, used the term "tattling" when referring to employees raising issues with administrators.

McDonald is now the superintendent of Waukee schools. She was picked to replace Wilkerson, who stepped down in January after 22 years with the district.

"How do I bring this forward when there is no one to hear the evidence? Should I seek the organization's legal counsel or my own attorney? Is my job in jeopardy? I worry about this every day," Welker wrote in October 2015.

The district's investigators expressed concern in their report that administrators were not supporting the role of human resources.

The new superintendent has "some serious internal cultural hurdles to overcome," the internal report said.

Welker's job as human resources director was eliminated this year amid budget cuts. He earned $119,380 per year.

Retaliation alleged

Rose has been the center of at least two lawsuits brought by former employees who claimed the chief operating officer retaliated against them.

Jay Oxenford filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the district in 2014, but the lawsuit was dismissed last year. Oxenford, who was a grounds supervisor for 12 years, said his responsibilities were stripped seven years ago after he alleged that Rose was not accurately reporting how money was spent on maintenance work.

In his lawsuit, Oxenford claimed he told his supervisors that he was going to disclose additional improper conduct. Instead, he was fired at the meeting that he had requested so he could disclose that information.

A judge ruled Oxenford failed to prove his employment was adversely affected by the disclosure.

Bavas, the district's former operations manager, filed a lawsuit in June alleging he was forced to resign after disclosing evidence that "he reasonably believed" implicated Rose in the theft of school property, falsification of employee time cards and receipt of improper payments from district vendors. He also claims the district and Rose violated Iowa's whistleblower statute, which protects those who disclose evidence of wrongdoings. A jury trial is scheduled to begin July 15, 2018.

Lawrence, the district's communications director, said the school system "strongly denies" the allegations in Bavas' lawsuit and "intends to vigorously defend itself."

"My client feels strongly that he was repeatedly retaliated against for coming forward and reporting his observations of wrongdoing and the misuse of public property," Bavas' attorney, Ted Spellman, said in a statement to the Register. "The purpose of the whistleblower statute is to prevent retaliation against people who step forward in these situations and do the right thing. Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case."

Amy Patters, Rose's administrative assistant, resigned from her job in May. She told investigators she knew of Rose's conduct and would often feel "guilty" for completing some tasks at his direction, the report said.

Her attorney, Kellie Paschke, said that supervisors began eliminating Patters' job responsibilities or transferring them to newer, less-qualified staff members, after she spoke to investigators.

"And despite a long history of positive performance evaluations, Ms. Patters began receiving negative feedback and poor reviews," Paschke said in a statement. "Ultimately, this retaliation became unbearable and she was forced to resign her employment."

McDonald, the superintendent, declined an interview request for this story.

The statement sent by Lawrence on McDonald's behalf said in part:

"Ensuring board policies and state laws are followed is a top priority at Waukee Community School District. … We remain committed to fostering work environments that encourage open communication, collaboration and create opportunities for our staff to continue to learn."