Commentary: District should release investigation findings
Last March, the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers sent a letter to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District claiming 16 instances of “untruths and inaccuracies” in the school’s application for Gold Ribbon status from the California Department of Education.
According to the letter, the alleged untruths and inaccuracies were so egregious that the teachers at the school “… felt that it would be unethical for them to participate in focus groups during the Gold Ribbon visit knowing the embarrassing truth that the school’s programs do not match the assertions set forth in the application nor wish to engage in deception to cover up the truth.”
The district promised an investigation, the results of which have recently been delivered to the district. In an unsigned e-mail sent by the district only to Mariners’ parents, district officials stated that, they “are not at liberty to discuss or disclose information related to personnel matters,” however, in my view, that argument may not survive a request for disclosure through the California Public Records Act.
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It is not and has never been necessary to produce the specifics of the report. All that is needed is the appropriate discipline for the person or people responsible for any untruths and inaccuracies.
But there is one more consideration. If there were untruths and inaccuracies in the Gold Ribbon application, even just one, the district has a duty to return the award to the Department of Education.
Returning the award is necessary to teaching everyone, particularly our students, that that allegations surrounding this incident, if accurate, have consequences. Keeping the award under potentially false pretenses sends the wrong message to all residents of Newport-Mesa.
The district should not be embarrassed to return the award, in fact, history is full of major awards that have been returned or revoked.
Now it’s time for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to do the right thing and return the award before it is revoked. This is the best lesson we can teach our children in this situation.
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Former Daily Pilot columnist STEVE SMITH lives in Costa Mesa.