No actions after teacher investigation

An investigation sparked by allegations targeting past and present Cloquet school district staff on social media has been completed and will result in no disciplinary action by the district, superintendent Michael Cary told the Pine Knot News on Monday.

It was late August when Facebook and Instagram accounts associated with Madeline Kiehn, a 2012 Cloquet grad, started lighting up with stories about teachers and staff in the school district after Kiehn asked people to share. The posts came from myriad sources and included claims regarding both past and present employees, with tales of teachers and staff who asked female students to hug them or sit on their laps, to others who allegedly bullied students, played favorites or simply gave a person “the creeps.” Some former students also defended those teachers on the same social media posts.

Cary said he intentionally hired someone outside the district, a woman employed from the law firm Rupp, Anderson, Squires & Waldspurger — with a strong background in this type of investigation “to ensure a solid and thorough investigation.”

Cary examined the complete investigative report last week. The report is private, as it deals with school district employees and what appear to have been unsubstantiated allegations. Cary said he couldn’t talk about much of the findings, but he did share that no one will face disciplinary action.

“We reviewed the results and we are considering all the cases that were part of the investigation closed,” Cary told the Pine Knot on Monday.

High school science teacher and girls soccer coach Dustin Randall, who was placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, has been reinstated. The superintendent said being placed on leave is not in any way an indicator of guilt, it’s simply the best way for the district to protect both students and the staff member.

The takeaway

The superintendent stressed that people should always report any kind of inappropriate behavior from a school district teacher or staff member.

“We want to protect kids, they are our No. 1 priority, so if someone ever feels something inappropriate happens in class or a program, we want to know right away,” Cary said.

That doesn’t always mean sexually inappropriate; it might be bullying or discriminatory actions, for example. Teachers have a code of conduct they are supposed to follow, and if behavior violates that, school officials want to know.

“Anytime a family feels there’s been inappropriate behavior, it’s good to let the building leaders know,” Cary said. “It’s especially important if they feel something potentially damaging is happening to a student.”

There is no particular form to fill out; rather, people should communicate by email, phone, in person as soon as possible. The building principal is the ideal person to contact, but if people aren’t comfortable with that, they can even come straight to the district office or talk to a counselor, for example.

The superintendent encouraged people to act quickly when something happens.

“In my experience, I have found it’s far easier to conduct a high-quality investigation when we are notified of anything right after the time it happened,” Cary said. “The more time that goes between allegations and investigation, it becomes far harder.”

Although the allegations in August were very public and uncontrolled, they got results, in the form of a thorough investigation by someone outside the district.

“The district considers all complaints whether or not they could be categorized as “formal” in some sense,” Cary said this summer. “This is consistent with our obligation to place student safety first and to take action when we have notice of potential misconduct.”