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Chair reduces penalty for North Kitsap school director who missed filing deadline
Summary
Drew McDonald, a North Kitsap School District director, told the commission he missed a post-primary C4 filing because he did not open the notice; the Public Disclosure Commission found a violation but reduced the staff-recommended $150 penalty to $100 after he filed the missing reports.
The Public Disclosure Commission's brief adjudicative proceeding resolved PDC case 151259 concerning Drew McDonald, a school director with North Kitsap School District 400, who failed to timely file a post-primary C4 report due Sept. 11, 2023. After staff confirmed Mr. McDonald had since submitted the missing reports, the presiding officer asked him to explain why he missed the statement-of-understanding deadline and the filings.
Mr. McDonald testified that he had not opened the agency letter until Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, and that he had attempted to do the reporting himself during his first campaign without hiring outside help. "It was my own failure to open the letter in time… It was my 1st campaign, so I was treading water on my own," he said, and accepted responsibility for the late filings. He also thanked PDC staff for hands-on help that made the filings possible.
Chair [presiding officer] said he intended to find a violation but to reduce the penalty. The chair stated he would lower the penalty from the staff-recommended $150 to $100, the same amount as the agency's statement-of-understanding option. The commission recorded the reduced penalty and excused Mr. McDonald.
Why it matters: the case illustrates how the PDC's streamlined remediation option (an SOU with a $100 penalty, filing, and acknowledgement) functions in practice and how commissioners weigh mitigating circumstances when a respondent completes required filings after the deadline.
