Farmington school board may investigate one of its members

A Farmington school board member has proposed to hire an independent investigator to probe allegations that a fellow board member violated the board's code of conduct.

At a meeting Monday, the board is slated to discuss Julie Singewald's proposal to investigate behavior by Tim Burke.

The move comes after an Oct. 11 meeting at which several board members accused Burke of overstepping his authority and making unfounded accusations against school district administrators.

Singewald said Friday that an outside investigator could "give a more objective account" of events and clear the air on the board.

"We need to sort out the facts from the emotions," added board chairwoman Veronica Walter.

Burke's relationship with the board and Superintendent Brad Meeks has long been contentious. Board members have said he treats administrators disrespectfully and burdens them with unnecessary data requests. Meeks has said that Burke has poor "e-mail etiquette," and that he's too quick to blind-copy or forward messages with district data.

Burke has said he believes the district conducts its business with "bewildering" secrecy, and that the board's claims boil down to "not playing nice in the sandbox."

Some board members expressed dismay at an Oct. 7 e-mail to Meeks in which Burke wrote that a report given to the board by district administrators appeared to be missing key figures. They may have been "intentionally deleted," Burke wrote, something administrators have denied.

Some board members consider that defamation.

"When an employee or a group of employees are subjected to constant attacks, constant accusations," they may conclude they are victims of a "hostile work environment" and sue the district, board member John Kampf said at the Oct. 11 meeting. "You are putting this district in great jeopardy," he told Burke.