Update: Dist. 281 Investigation Finds No Wrong Doing

At Monday night’s School Board Meeting, the Robbinsdale Area School Board accepted the report of a third-party investigation into the district’s hiring practices.

This March, the board received a complaint from a citizen of the district, claiming that Superintendent Carlton Jenkins did not follow the proper hiring process for 12 employees. In response, the board hired a third-party investigator. The investigation found there was no wrong doing and at Monday’s meeting, the school board voted to close the investigation. The vote was unanimous.

“I seriously hope that this investigation puts to rest the allegations against employees in this district,” said director Sherry Tyrrell.

Other board members echoed Tyrrell’s thoughts.

“I personally felt that all hires were appropriate hires and all processes were followed,” said vice chair Michael Herring.

The Superintendent responded to the report saying he hoped everyone could walk away from this scenario and shake hands.

“District 281 is an awesome district with awesome people. Sometimes we are going to have disagreements and that’s okay,” said Jenkins. “But let’s get to the bottom of this and keep the main things, the main things and that’s our children. There are no hard feelings.”

Petitioners Reach Signature Goal

The group of citizens working toward triggering a state audit of the district says they’ve collected the signatures they need to turn in their petition.

According to petition organizer, Kelly Guncheon, the group has obtained 2300 signatures, which is more than they need. Guncheon says he turned over the petition to the county auditor and the school district.

Once the county auditor verifies there are enough valid signatures, the petition will go to the State Auditor’s office. There, staff will meet with the petitioners to determine the possible scope of the audit.

To learn more about the issues behind the audit, click here.

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