State board advances complaint against former Superintendent Gausman as he sues district
Gausman #Gausman
SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) has advanced a complaint against Dr. Paul Gausman, the former Superintendent of the Sioux City Community Schools.
The complaint, signed by School Board President Dan Greenwell, alleges Gausman tried to “bribe” incoming school board members to select a board president other than Greenwell.
According to the complaint, Gausman allegedly made a bribe offer to then Board Members-Elect Bob Michaelson and Jan George. Gausman moved to dismiss the BOEE complaint, but the board instead found “probable cause” and referred the case to an administrative law judge.
”The process has moved next to go before a judge. We’re kind of out of the process. Now, that’s, that’s out of our hands. And we’ll work with the BOEE as they request,” said School Board President Dan Greenwell.
While the BOEE complaint could impact Gausman’s Iowa superintendent license, he’s now the superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska. LPS Board of Education President Lanny Boswell told the Nebraska Examiner that the board in Lincoln still supports Gausman.
Separately, Gausman has sued the board for alleged violations of Iowa’s open meetings laws and for filing what he views as a frivolous complaint against him.
While he declined to comment, in court papers Gausman alleges the district withheld public records from him about meetings in which the board discussed his job performance. He also says the board held “illegal” meetings because they did not notify Gausman or the public that the board was going into closed session to discuss filing a complaint against him.
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