The Leon County School Board opted for harsher consequences in a disciplinary action against its own Human Resources Director, Brett Shively.
With a split vote, the board ultimately decided the superintendent’s initial response to a workplace conduct complaint did not go far enough.
After an internal investigation into allegations that Shively verbally bullied and belittled HR coordinator Allison Halpin in front of others during a work meeting, Superintendent Rocky Hanna recommended the board issue an informal discipline.
But in a 3-2 vote, the board chose to issue a formal discipline notice.
The case comes as district administrators and operations are being scrutinized by community watchdogs; Hanna has made tough decisions in managing the district’s finances, going as far as to cut $7.8 million from its budget, including a $2.4 million cut in district administrator pay.
Board members noted the rarity of the case: It is the first time it has made a decision over an appealed disciplinary action according to Hanna.
Both Halpin and Shively disagreed and appealed the outcome, bringing the matter before the school board for the final decision. The board was asked to intervene after Hanna recommended a letter of counsel. Halpin felt the penalty should be more severe. Shively disagreed with Hanna and forced the appeal to the board.
Halpin said Shively compared his 26 years of experience in employee relations to her one year of experience in a manner that she felt was to undermine her ability to carry out her job responsibilities.
The incident, investigation and outcome were on display during the board’s April 29 business meeting. The meeting was sparsely attended with only eight members of the public in the room for the full meeting, regularly held on the second and fourth Tuesday each month.
“I have been insulted, intimidated, belittled and demeaned. The defamatory comments regarding my qualifications, knowledge, work ethic and professionalism are concerning to say the least and could have a lasting impact on my unblemished reputation in the district,” Halpin wrote in her complaint.
She also claimed that there were other, previous incidents where she endured “emotional stress and humiliation” from Shively. She didn’t file any complaints on those incidents.
Shively said his intent was not to offend or demean Halpin, but to address what he called a “professional disagreement.”
“This matter stems from a work-related discussion, a professional disagreement regarding the role of employee relations in the disciplinary process,” Shively told the board. “Disagreement is a normal part of organizational decision making.”
Hanna said he was embarrassed that the matter escalated to the board. He was in the meeting when the incident occurred and expressed his frustration with both Shively and Halpin. Hanna hired Shively in 2020.
The air in the April 28 school board meeting room was filled with tension, with Halpin on alert, at times wincing during the board’s discussion, and Shively either shaking his head, wiping his face or holding his head down.
Assistant Superintendent of Intervention Services Tonja Fitzgerald conducted an investigation into the complaint at Hanna’s request. After reviewing the findings she determined Shively violated district policies governing civility expectations, workplace speech, ethical conduct and bullying.
She recommended he be given a letter of reprimand, which is typically used to address repeat offenses and serious violations. Hanna later reduced that consequence to a letter of counsel, a less severe disciplinary measure used for first offenses.
A letter of reprimand is considered a formal disciplinary action and may carry greater professional consequences than a letter of counsel, which is an informal, corrective, less punitive measure.
“Given that no one has ever filed a complaint about Mr. Shively in the past I felt that a coaching memo was appropriate,” Hanna argued before the school board in defense of his recommendation.
Hanna said he decided to keep the investigation internal to save on costs of outsourcing a firm. But he asserted that regardless of the outcome, he would have come to the same conclusion, issuing a letter of counsel.
Board chair Marcus Nicolas, vice chair Darryl Jones and member Alva Smith argued that Hanna’s recommendation was insufficient, while board members Laurie Cox and Rosanne Wood supported the superintendent’s stance.
“The one concerning thing that I hear is that you’re telling us that you would have still recommended a coaching memo even if it would have gone to an outside counsel without even knowing what they would have determined or recommended,” Smith said.
But Cox agreed with Hanna, arguing that Shively’s personnel record has no prior blemishes. She said she would have preferred to see the matter handled at the district office, not in a school board meeting.
“It’s very unfortunate and very disappointing that employee disagreements in this situation got to this level,” Cox said.
Alaijah Cross covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at abrown@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County School Board issues formal discipline to HR director
Reporting by Alaijah Cross, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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