The top secret investigation of Douglas Schools superintendent Earl Pettit will not be on the agenda when the board meets tonight. The investigator who's been questioning employees about Pettit for weeks still has not turned in his report.
The board members who've voted most consistently to fire Pettit aren't talking -- this is their 79th day of silence. But yesterday a second board member stepped forward and released public documents in the case. Mario Ramos' Pettit file contains two interesting documents. One is a draft of a motion to relieve Pettit of his duties effective October 6th. The second is a draft of letter to Pettit, dated October 5th, informing Pettit of the decision and ordering him not to come to work. The letter has a blank for the signature of board president Chuck Hoyack. It turns out that each board member received a copy of those documents during the October 5th board meeting. Hoyack introduced the motion to reassign Pettit. Ramos tried to have it taken off the agenda, accusing the other board members of acting like "little kids." That attempt failed, but when the motion came to a vote, Ramos helped defeat it. Because of that, Hoyack never got a chance to send Pettit the reassignment letter. The board had already voted on September 21st to hire a private investigator to look into Pettit's job performance and conduct, and had also passed a motion directing all District employees to cooperate. In recent weeks 9 On Your Side's ongoing investigation has shown that Hoyack and his wife, Stevenson Elementary PTSO President Alvina Hoyack, led multiple efforts to oust Pettit over the last year. But if any particular incident prompted the current investigation, the board has given no hint of what it might be. The current probe has the look and feel of a fishing expedition. In authorizing it, the board cast the widest possible net for information, citing laws that promise potential whistle blowers protection on topics ranging from malfeasance to child abuse.
Ramos is the second school board member to respond to a series of KGUN9 public records requests, the first of which 9 On Your Side filed more than a month ago. Pettit, H.R. director Mary Good, and Stevenson Elementary principal Rafael Ortiz all have complied with those requests. So has board member Susan Kramer. Ramos and Kramer have consistently supported Pettit in the various votes to remove him. Hoyack, who has led those efforts, has refused to explain to KGUN9 viewers why he launched the latest attempt. Nor has he complied with the state's public records law. Board members Ed Rivera and Patricia Lopez also continue to ignore the law. Pettit and his attorney have accused the board of violating the state's open meetings law as well. The state attorney general's office is investigating that claim.
Although Pettit's employment is not on the agenda for tonight, Pettit himself will be there. He is scheduled, among other things, to address the board on the District's bond sale. The meeting starts at 5:30 in the Central Administration Building's board room. KGUN9's Joel Waldman will be there, and will have a report on tonight's 10pm news.
Forrest Carr
fcarr@kgun9.com
