The Stillwater school board, already divided over controversial school closings, is awaiting findings of an investigation into two of its members after hearing a complaint from a district employee.
The board voted 4-2, with one abstention, to hire a Fergus Falls, Minn., law firm to investigate Sarah Stivland and Mike Ptacek, both of whom opposed the decision to close three elementary schools.
Stivland and Ptacek, the two top vote-getters in the 2016 election, said this week they are the targets of unsubstantiated accusations. Stivland said the board should have resolved what she called "ridiculous claims" without an investigation, and Ptacek said the probe further damages relations on a board that he said was making progress in mending differences.
Board members have declined to discuss the nature of the complaint. But Jennifer Pelletier, who was elected to the board last fall with Stivland, said the investigation wasn't retaliation over the closings dispute.
"Absolutely not," she said. "We were presented with a formal complaint, consulted with our attorney and dealt with it as any organization would. It was the only appropriate course of action to take."
Ptacek said the nature of the complaint and the person who made it will become public once the investigation is completed. It was unclear when that might happen.
"It's not a criminal suit or a civil suit at this point, it's a complaint, and I believe it lacks substance," he said this week. "I do not plan to stop asking the tough questions. I will continue to operate with civility and respect in my quest for public transparency."
Three of the four board members who voted in favor of the investigation — George Hoeppner, Paula O'Loughlin and Tom Lehmann — supported the administration's decision to close the schools. The fourth member voting in favor was Pelletier, who said during her campaign last fall that she stood by the closings decision. The one member who abstained, Shelley Pearson, opposed the closings.
