JCCC board censures trustee over ‘secret’ email with false statements about college
The Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees on Thursday voted to censure member Angeliina Lawson, saying she spread damaging, false accusations about the college when she privately emailed state legislators with complaints.
Lawson secretly emailed a few state lawmakers this past fall, questioning how the college manages its assets and claiming that the board lacked strong oversight. The email was eventually passed on to college officials across the state, and then to JCCC board members, who have said Lawson’s comments were filled with inaccuracies and misrepresented the college.
The board in December voted to start a fact-finding process to investigate Lawson’s actions. Like the board members who called for the censure, the fact-finder also disputed nearly every allegation in Lawson’s email, finding the majority of statements to be misinterpretations or “flatly wrong.”
Based on the findings — and because Lawson for months refused to admit to fellow board members that she wrote the email — trustees voted 5-1 to censure Lawson, saying she violated their code of conduct. It’s a rare move, putting in writing that the board does not condone her actions.
Lawson has called the process a “witch hunt,” arguing she is being penalized for asking questions and passing along constituents’ concerns. She said the main issue she is trying to address is the college board’s lack of transparency.
“This is not about an individual trustee. This is about trustee conduct,” board chair Greg Musil said Thursday. “It’s about trust. It’s about deception. … This is about hiding information from the public, hiding information from the board, hiding information from faculty, staff and students. It’s not about transparency. It’s about secrecy.”
Lawson said she disagrees with the fact-finder report and the board’s decision.
“(The email is) not meant to be seen as an accusation. It’s not meant to be seen as an attack,” she said. “If you have questions, you should be able to ask them.”
Issues at JCCC
During her time on the board over the past couple of years, Lawson, along with many Johnson County residents, has been calling for greater transparency at the college. Ahead of the November election, several board member candidates and voters criticized JCCC, saying they have been left out of critical decisions — such as eliminating the track program.
The latest issue comes at a crucial time for the Overland Park college as it searches for a new leader, after President Joe Sopcich announced he is stepping down. Trustee Jerry Cook announced Thursday that the college will soon name four finalists and that the board could choose one as early as next month.
Thursday night, several residents spoke up in support of Lawson, saying the board should not silence dissenting voices. The group included Blake Koger, who has pushed for the college to bring back its track program. He said he can relate to Lawson’s experience dealing with the board of trustees, arguing his questions and opposition were often met with “disgust and disbelief.”
“At the end of the day, you have to ask yourselves, what positive comes from all of this?” Koger told the board. “Paying attorneys and fact-finding — do you want open involvement in support of the college or not? Sometimes people disagree with you. Either way, they’re engaged. Take advantage of that engagement; don’t stifle it.”
Lawson maintained that her email to state representatives — which in large part called for legislation to provide more oversight of the community college system — was a compilation of concerns that were not meant to be accusations against the college or its staff.
‘False and misleading’
Much of the email detailed issues with the college’s policies on art collection, the bidding process and disposal of trash. After interviewing staff and reviewing policies, the fact finder, attorney Allan Hallquist, found nearly all of her claims to be inaccurate.
Throughout her email, Lawson talked about not having access to certain information, saying her requests to meet with staff or tour facilities had taken up to one year. Hallquist included emails between Lawson and staff showing that her requests for information and meetings were met within days.
Board members said Lawson’s claims damaged the college’s reputation and misrepresented staff who were directly or indirectly mentioned in the email.
“(Staff) were very upset, very hurt, and they felt they had been stabbed in the back after meeting with you and providing you this information,” Hallquist told Lawson.
Lawson said she “loves our staff” and never intended harm when she sent the email. She emphasized the fact finder never established her intent in sending the email.
Trustees agreed Lawson’s actions amounted to her violating the board’s code of conduct. The code calls for board members to work together in harmony and to avoid deception, for example.
“If I had sent this kind of letter with this kind of false and misleading statements — implying our college is engaging in unethical, inappropriate and maybe illegal behavior — you should censure me, because I didn’t follow our code of conduct,” Musil said.
Some board members said they do not have a problem with Lawson asking questions or emailing state legislators.
“But when we ask questions that seem to confuse facts and issues, trust is diminished,” Cook said.
Trustee Paul Snider said he voted in favor of the censure, in part, because Lawson “misled” the board by denying for months that she wrote the email.
Lawson emphasized the email was meant to remain private, although she sent it to public officials. When board members received the email, Lawson’s name was not included. When the board asked Lawson at previous meetings whether she had written it, she refused to answer.
In interviews with the fact finder, Lawson admitted to writing it. But Thursday, she continued to distance herself, claiming there is a difference between “writing” and “having authorship” over a letter, saying she did not come up with the information she included in the email.
Musil argued the situation would have been handled differently if Lawson would have first brought her letter to the board of trustees.
“This is not the college’s finest hour,” Musil said. “I hope everyone takes it as an opportunity to find better ways to find common ground in the future.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 7:59 AM.
