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Public criticizes board transparency as Longview superintendent describes outside investigation at Mark Morris
Summary
A community member told the Longview School Board it has "failed" on transparency and urged immediate resignations; the superintendent said a third-party investigator is reviewing supervision, staff training and reporting related to an incident at Mark Morris High School and that law enforcement involvement limits public disclosure.
A heated public comment and a superintendent's update over student-safety procedures were central to the Longview School Board's March 23 meeting.
Online commenter Sean Turpin told the board it had "failed" to be transparent and accused board members and district leadership of ignoring public questions about student safety. "Step down. Not later. Not after another review. Not after more delay. Now," Turpin said during his three-minute allotment, and he told the board there is an active recall effort underway.
Earlier in the meeting the superintendent provided an update on an incident at Mark Morris High School, saying the district has engaged outside investigator Kathleen Haggard of Haggard & Janssen to examine three areas: supervision of student-athletes, staff training and reporting systems. The superintendent said the investigator "is currently collecting all the artifacts and other information" needed to review policies and procedures and that interviews are being scheduled.
The superintendent emphasized limits on public disclosure. "This matter does involve students and is the subject of an active law enforcement investigation," she said, and added the district must allow both law enforcement and the independent investigator to do their work.
Board President Mortgala delivered a collective response on behalf of the board, saying members are "listening" and that they support completing a careful, outside review and using the findings to strengthen systems to protect students.
Board members and the superintendent also acknowledged community frustration about the board's public-comment process. The superintendent said the board's established practice is to set aside time for comments without immediate feedback and that she had asked a board member to offer a brief statement during the superintendent's report to help explain the process while preserving the public-comment period.
What’s next: the district said the outside investigation is ongoing; staff and the board will provide updates as permitted by law, and the superintendent said she would follow up with more information where allowed.
