Tommy Washbush
The Doyle Administration Building.
A complaint alleging mistreatment and retaliation was signed by two dozen current and former employees of Madison's Southside Elementary School.
The Madison school district originally told the teachers union that it would conduct an internal investigation into claims that top administrators at Southside Elementary School mistreated and retaliated against employees, according to Pamela Ferrill, the associate director for labor and organizing for Madison Teachers Inc. But in the face of pressure from current and former employees, the district has agreed to hire an outside investigator instead, confirms district spokesman Ian Folger.
Folger says the district has not yet decided who will conduct the investigation, but is “finalizing the process of appointing” one.
Employees requested the outside investigator at a May 20 school board meeting, and the district agreed May 24, according to Ferrill. The investigator will look into a complaint signed by two dozen current and former employees alleging retaliation toward staff, high turnover caused by a toxic work culture, and inappropriate discipline of students.
“Given the extent and severity of the legal and policy violations documented, the number of administrators named, documented patterns of retaliation for whistleblowing, and the district’s inaction, we respectfully request that an impartial, independent investigator be named to conduct the investigation,” Rebecca Greco, a former librarian at Allis Elementary, said at the May 20 board meeting.
Tracey Woock, one of the employees who signed the complaint, credits the school district for heeding their request. “We truly believe they took what we said to heart and then were able to give us that news,” she says.
Ferrill, a longtime district employee, says school staffers had made many attempts over the years to get their complaints addressed, but without success. “I do not feel the district can conduct a fair and objective investigation.”
Last year, after the district’s communications director Tim LeMonds was accused by current and former staffers of “years of consistent emotional abuse, bullying, unequal pay, and harassment,” an initial internal investigation found “insufficient evidence” that he violated district policy.
About a month after LeMonds sued to keep the complaint that prompted the investigation secret, the district hired Shana Lewis of Renning, Lewis & Lacy to investigate different but related claims. That investigation found LeMonds had “engaged in retaliation and bullying” and “was dishonest with district employees…and insubordinate toward his supervisor.”
After LeMonds’ attorney threatened to sue the district for what he called “double jeopardy” as a result of the second investigation, LeMonds received a $40,000 lump sum payout and unused sick leave in exchange for voluntarily retiring, according to the terms of a separation agreement.
“I feel there’s a systemic affinity toward not holding their administrators accountable,” says Ferrill of school district leadership. “There appears to be a different standard they apply to their employees versus their administrators, as evidenced by the Tim LeMonds situation.”
