School Board Dispute Leads to Legal Battle Over Alleged Misconduct and Censorship
A West Valley school board is facing internal turmoil as one of its members takes legal action against the district. The controversy arises from accusations of unprofessional conduct, leading to a public censure, which board member Kellie Zimmerman argues was unlawfully executed.
The situation began with an investigation by attorney James Ledbetter, which concluded that Zimmerman “seriously humiliates” employees and breached board regulations during meetings. Board Member Michael Todd highlighted this in August, stating from the report, “There is no doubt, and the investigator agrees with the observations made by the interviewed district employees, if an employee acted in the same manner as respondent, they would reasonably anticipate termination.”
Despite these findings, the investigation did not support claims of workplace harassment or racially motivated behavior, which were the initial triggers for the inquiry. Nonetheless, the board decided in July to publicly reprimand Zimmerman, restricting her communication and mandating sensitivity training.
Zimmerman refuted the accusations, arguing that the report lacked specific instances of misconduct. “I believe that I am acting in my duly elected role as a board member of asking important questions of the district to ensure that I am representing my constituents and ensuring that taxpayer money is spent responsibly and with the student’s best interests in mind,” she stated.
The Legal Challenge
Zimmerman’s lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, contends that the board overstepped its legal boundaries by investigating and censuring her without proper authority under state law. Her attorney, Daniel Arellano, explained, “There’s cases about this that say school boards explicitly do not have the power to investigate their colleagues on the board. They don’t have the power to censor their colleagues on the board.”
The lawsuit claims the board’s actions infringed on Zimmerman’s constitutional rights, including free speech, and impaired her ability to perform her duties. “Part of my role as a governing board member is to be listening to constituents and bringing those concerns forward,” Zimmerman emphasized. She seeks a court order to lift the board’s restrictions and affirm their actions as exceeding their powers.
The defendants in the case include the Liberty Elementary School District and board members Bryan Cirrincione, Kris Kenyon, Sarah Schmidt, and Michael Todd. Schmidt declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation, while the others did not respond to inquiries.
Unresolved Questions
Questions remain about the origins of the investigation, as the board did not formally decide to engage Ledbetter. Zimmerman’s lawsuit suggests the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, which insures public schools and colleges, initiated the probe. However, Arellano remarked, “But the problem with that is that, we don’t know who — we don’t know that for sure. And we certainly don’t know who set the scope of this investigation, who directed the particulars of the investigation as it happened, but we do know that it wasn’t the board.”
The trust’s involvement without school board authorization echoes a previous occurrence in 2019, where it covered legal costs for then-Scottsdale Unified School Board member Barbara Perleberg without board approval. Representatives for the trust have not clarified if this is a standard procedure.
For more background on the trust’s 2019 actions, see this article.
