REQUEST FOR RECUSAL Or B(}ÂRD PRESIDENT KATY SIMON HOLL^ÀND

rRoM PARTICIPATING IN DELTBERATIONS, DISCUSSION AND DECISION IN

THE MATTER OT'TT{E AMENDED NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEDTING OF \ryASHOE

COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO CONSIDER

CHARACTAR, ALLEGED MISCONDUCT AND OR PROTESSTONAL COMPETENCE

OT TRÄCI DAVIS

Traci Davis, by and ttnougfr her attorney Willia:n Peterson requests that'Washoe County

Sohool Board kcsldent Katy Simon Holland (Floltand), recuse herself from participating in the

discussions, deliberations and or decisíon to be made with respeot to the Amended Notice of

Special Meeting of Washoe County School Dishict Board of Trustees to Consider Charactm,

Alleged Misconduct and/or Professional Competenoe of Traci Davis (Ðavis).

This request is made on the ground that Holland has manifested a history and pattem of

bias and prejudice against Davis, and in particular with respect to the matter presently befots the

Boæd as to which she has dcmonstrated a lack of impartiality and h¿s so prejudged the case that

she has becomc an advooate for the prosecution of the case agaiust Ðavis, Theso statsments

include remarks to the public published in the Rcno Oazette Joumal and in an interview with the

Journal, that (l) "there is conclusive and substantíal evidence that Davís is to blame for leaking

confidential information, (2) "Davis is guilty of breaching her contract", (3) "Davis should have

known about the leaks coming from David Lasik", (4) "th€ conduot of Davis was so egregíous

that immediate action had to be taken without an investigation", (5) "evidence of misconduct is

substantìal and it is easy to come to the conclusion that egregious oonduct occurred", (6)
,,abundant evidenoe exists of substantial misconduct and anyone else doing this would be held

accountable,"

Apart from all the above, President Holland has clearly aligned herself with the

prosecution and has predetermined guilt by stating" (7) "we are oonfident that we have a

substûritial case of gloss neglígenoe, if not for deliberato mísconduct", and (8) "wo aro vcry

oonfident that the evidence is substantial and that it is easy to oome to & reasonable oonclusion

that egregious negligence in her duties as a CEO has occurred." Ses Exhibit 1.

Apart ftom all the above, Presidcnt Holland has previously eugaged in oommunioations

with a quorum of the board donigrating the character and integrity of Davis in violation of the

Open Meeting Law, President Holland also previously attempted to secure Davis' removal by

undertaking an investigation into Digitål Days by hiring outsidE counsel wíthout an open

meetíng or board approval, to report direotly to her, (the same attonrey referred to in the

Amended Notice) to exonerate inside counsel, and suggest that Davis may have engagcd in

illegal conduct,

In addítion, it is evident that President Holland has engaged in multíple ex psrt€

communications and exchanges regarding this matter, as manifested by her statement (in

additionto multþle other instances), that she has rsviewed an additional T0 pages of testimony,
n'sonoborating" testimony,
not previously provided in the Notice or to the public, of allegedly

Exhibit 1.

No citizeu of this st¿te or this country should be compolled to have his or hcr case judged

by a decisionmaker who has obviously already made up her mind about the case, and expressed

her determination, consistent \¡i¡ith past praotice and history, to terminate Davis. The Speclal

Notice convenes a hearing on"alleged mßconduct," President Davis has already determined that
the misconduct occurred and has plainly become aligned herself with the forces of convìction
by

stating that"we arø confidenl thql the evidence ís substantlal, and lt is easy to come to the

concluslon that egreglous misconduct has occurred'"

Pubtic Employees, such as Þavis, have a propely interest in their continued employment

and are entitled to due process constitutional protection under both the state (Article 1 section 8)

and federal constítutions (Amendment XIV), Board of Regents v Roth, 408 U.S. 593' Perry v

Sinderman, 408 U.S, 564, State, ex, Rel., Swcikert v Briare, 94 Nev. 752, Lapinski v City of

Reno, 95 Nev, 898 (1979¡. Property ríghts associated with a discharge for cause confer due

process rights on a publio employoe, Arnett v Kenney, 416 U.S, 134 097Ð; Lapinski, supril'

(due process applies if hearing is held irrespective of whether a hearing \ilzn even roquired),

A fair and impartial tribunal and hearing officu in a quasi-judicial proceeding

(which this is) is a sine qua non of due prooess, By her own admission, President Holland is not

and by virtue of becoming an advooate for a finding of guilt, cannot be tair and impartial and

must recuse herself,,

V/illiam Peterson
E need to know about the of WCSD's Traci Davis Page2 of 4
AÞVËRÏISEMË,NI

f*h,L,t /
More: A timeline of events that led to the accusations aqainst Washoe Superintendent Traci Davis (/story/news/education/2019/06/28/timeline-what-led-
alleqations-aqainst-traci-davis-superintendent-washoe-katv-simon-holland-qreen/1 577278001/)

The accusations against Davis

There is conclusive and substantial evidence that Davis is to blame for leaking confidential information, according to School Board President Katy Simon
Holland.

Holland said Davis is guilty of breaching her contract by wrongdoing, including her fiduciary duties of loyalty

"We are very confident that the evidence is substantial and that it is easy to come to a reasonable conclusion that egregious negligence ¡n her duties as a
CEO has occurred," Holland said.

Listen to our inte¡view with Holland on Thursday:

o RC-,,côrn
WCSD Boârd President Kat...
,itk sûu1.ltï.Íiut
Share

231
Coûkie policy

What the school district says is evidence aga¡nst Davis

The school district said hundreds of texts, emails and notes show that Davis had access to confidential information that was leaked to Chief of Staff David
Lasic and Chief of Student Services Byron Green and then given to Jenny Ricci Hunt, who filed a civil suit for wrongful termination in October 2018.

ln addition to these documents, the district said it has 70 pages of testimony that show how the texts, emails and notes are linked together

The superintendent's defense

There is no evidence that Davis was the source of leaked confidential information, according to her attorney William Peterson

From Thursday: Attorney for Superintendent Traci Davis savs WCSD has no evidence of her wronqdoinq (/story/news/education/2O19/06/27ltraci-davis-
attornev-savs-no-evidence-her-wronqdoino-wcsd-washoe-school-districFmondav-meetinq/1 590799001/)

Peterson wrote a 1 2-paqe letter to the board of trustees (/storv/news/education/2019/06/27ltraci-davis-attornev-savs-no-evidence-her-wronqdoinq-wcsd-

washoe-school-district-mondav-meetinq/1 590799001ô, delivered Thursday, to dispute the allegations that Davis provided access to confidential
information. He said the district failed to do an investigation and has failed to show proof that Davis has done anything wrong.

Davis has called this a witch hunt and said there are racial issues in the school district.

Davis compared her treatment to the Central Park Five, the black and Latino teens who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for the rape and
beating of a white woman in New York City in 1989.

"l am now the Washoe County School District One," she told the Reno Gazette Journal.

Where this all started

While Holland has said she became aware of the leaks from the text messages and emails in May, the breakdown of the district's top administrators
started during the overhaul of the district's special education department.

Davis hired Green to oversee special education in 2015. They announced that principals, rather than the special ed admin¡strators, would be held

htps://www.rgj.com/story/news/e ducationl20lgl06l2Sleverything-you-need-know-ousting-wcsds-traci-... 613012019

Everything you need to know about the ousting of WCSD's Traci Davis Page 3 of4
responsrDle ior every sluoenr wrrn orsaDilrues. I nrs causeo a qrvroe rn rne orsrncr þeûveen tne aomrnrslralron ano pnncrpals

Soon after, the d¡strict launched an investigation into bullying in the special education department. The district hired Solutions at Work to ¡nvestigate, and
dozens of principals and school employees accused Green and Jenny Ricci Hunt, a former principal promoted to a top post in special education, of
wrongdoing.

Green and Hunt were put on administrative leave pending an investigation. The RGJ has been fighting for the results of that investigation since
April 2017.

Green returned to work. Hunt was fired

The key players

Traci Davis: Superintendent Davis was hired by Pedro Martinez in 2012 as his second in command. She was thrust into the top post when Martinez was
fired by the school board in a messy fight ¡n 2014. Today, she is accused of leaking confidential distric,t information.

Read more: What we know about Davis. Green and Lasic (/story/news/education/201 9/06/19/washoe-countv-school-district-what-we-know{raci-davis-
bvron-q reen-david-lasic/1 50207700 1 /)

Jenny Ricci Hunt: She was a principal at Hunsberger Elementary before being promoted to the top administrative post over special education in 2015.
ln her termination papers from WCSD, she was accused of dishonesty and unprofessional conduct. Deputy Superintendent Kristen McNeill wrote in
Hunt's dismissal letter, "There is substantial evidence that you have been dishonest and conducted yourself unprofessionally toward multiple District
employees on multiple occasions." Hunt filed a civil lawsuit in 2018 after being fired.

Byron Green: He was hired in 2013 under Martinez, then put in charge of the special education department in 2015. According to documents, he was
implicated in giving information to Hunt in 2018, but reached a settlement agreement with the district. For agreeing to dismiss the charges he filed with
the Nevada Equal Rights Commission for discrimination, the district agreed not to investigate how or if he passed along confidential information. He was
fired from the district on June 17.

David Lasic: He is married to Green and had access to confidential information. As chief of staff he was also the administrator over the district's
information technology department and likely had access to lots of information, including the superintendent's emails and confidential documents. He was
fired from the district on June 17.

Kristen McNeill: Named acting superintendent during Davis's leave, McNeill shut down the district when Davis said she would return to work on June 27
McNeill was a teacher before taking over the district's state and federal initiatives in 2008. ln 2010, she was named chief strategies officer and two years
later was named chief of staff. ln 2015, she was promoted to deputy superintendent.

Neil Rombardo: The district's chief legal counsel who has been driving the negotiations with the superintendent's attorney William Peterson. Hired by the
district in 2015, he oversees all legal issues of the district. He was hired in the wake of the ousting of Superintendent Martinez. Randy Drake, who was
legal counsel, was reassigned and took a demotion and pay cut after questionable legal advice he gave the school board when former Superintendent
Martinez was terminated. Under Drake, the school board had seven counts of Open Meeting Law violations.

Katy Simon Holland: The school board president has taken a very public lead role in the newest district controversy. She has done multiple interviews
explaining the district and board's opinions and rationale to consider Davis's conduct. Holland denied at first knowing why Davis was on personal leave
but later said she couldn't share any information because she had agreed to keep negotiations with Davis confidential. She said she will vote in favor of
Davis's termination for cause on Monday. She is a former teacher and was the Washoe County manager overseeing an $800 million budget and 3,200
employees.

What happens next

At I a.m. Monday at the district administration building, the board will meet to discuss the allegations against Davis. The board could vote to keep Davis,
fire her without cause or fire her for cause. The meeting is public and people will be allowed to make comments. lt will also be livestreamed. To watch go
here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChHlK-aa3yh624EHolZntwq (https://www.voutube.com/channel/UChHlK-aa3yh624EHolZntwo)

Holland and Davis's attorney William Peterson said this case will likely go to court.

According to the superintendent's contract,jf Davis is fired for æ

(/storv/news/education/2019/06/27lwcsd-superintendent-traci-davis-disoute-likelv-headed-court-katv-simon-holland/1 5871 1 9001/)

htçs://www.rgj.com/story/news/education/2019l06l28leverything-you-need-know-ousting-wcsds-traci-... 613012019
Everything you need to know about the ousting of WCSD's Traci Davis Page 4 of 4

Þli, l'm Siobhan McAndrew and I tell stories about

l,Iorthern Nevada

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of Notlhern Nevada and covers education in Washoe County. Read her iournalism riqht here
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