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Durango School District rebuts circulating allegations about former employee, urges community to use district channels
Summary
District leaders told the public they will 'always share the facts' and asked community members to bring questions directly to the district after disinformation circulated about former employee Ben Smith; officials said no internal reports were filed while he worked for the district.
Speaker 2 opened the meeting by saying district leaders needed to "address some serious disinformation" that had been circulating about a former employee, Ben Smith. Speaker 2 said the claims that the district "knowingly hired and kept employed" the individual despite police contact are being discussed in the community and urged residents to bring questions directly to the district.
Speaker 2 said the district had not received any "safe to tell" reports or complaints from students, families, or staff while the employee worked for the district and described staff and families as "shocked" when they learned about the individual's outside activities. The speaker framed the remarks as part of a broader commitment to transparency: "We will always share the facts and we always look to put our students first," Speaker 2 said.
The district emphasized support for students and families during the difficult time and urged community members not to rely on social media or third-party channels for unverified claims. The speaker also urged residents to contact the district directly for clarification and said the district would continue to advocate for keeping families together and children in school.
The district did not announce a formal personnel action or provide additional specifics about law enforcement communications during the meeting; those details were not specified in the transcript.
