Pretrial conference in Shellum v. Butterfield-Odin Independent School District #836 is Friday
Lisa Shellum v. Butterfield-Odin Independent School District #836 will begin working its way through Federal Court in Minneapolis this Friday, February 24, with a scheduled 9:30 a.m. pretrial conference before Magistrate Judge Katherine M. Menendez.
On December 9, 2016, former Butterfield-Odin Public School Half-Time Superintendent/Half-Time Principal Shellum filed a civil lawsuit against the school district in federal court alleging her termination was the result of whistle-blower retaliation. In the lawsuit, Shellum alleges the school board majority four members discriminated against her by ordering a principal performance review that was different than the one conducted on the district’s other principal. The suit also alleges that the review results were illegally shared with the public. The third portion of her suit alleges that a quorum of board members met illegally. The suit, listing discrimination, violations of data practices and being unfairly targeted for unknowingly reporting false report, is seeking financial damages of $75,000 or more.
Days after the lawsuit was served, the district released findings of two investigations conducted by lawyers at the request of the school board at the group’s December 19, 2016 meeting. The investigations alleged Shellum illegally obtained expense reimbursements, extra compensation for work done and the possibility of providing false information for reported expenses. It is also alleged that she sought to sabotage the school district’s on-site day care, as well as the hiring of a new superintendent, because of the reports of her being fired and for allegations that she was about to expose the board for violating open meeting laws. The investigations of misconduct were approved by the board last May 31. Because Shellum is considered a “public official” under Minnesota’s data privacy law, most of the information contained in the reports is considered public information, and must be provided to the public upon request. Some information in the reports needed to be redacted, but the majority of the information is public. The complete report is 300+ pages, but report summaries completed by the two firms that conducted the investigations – Sally J. Ferguson of Arthur Chapman Kettering Smetak & Pikala, P. A., Attorneys At Law, and James K. Martin of the Booth Law Group – total 11 pages.
For more information on the reports from the pair of investigations, go to: https://www.cross-countiesconnect.com/2016/12/b-ops-school-board-sets-3-levy-increase/. These reports have been forwarded to Watonwan County Attorney Stephen Lindee.
Shellum was placed on leave from her post as half-time superintendent last January. That half-time superintendent contract expired at the end of the 2015-2016 school year. She continued as half-time principal until her June resignation, citing that a hostile work environment forced her to leave.
