As hundreds call for Shawnee Mission to fire principal, board hires investigator
Hundreds of parents and students are urging the Shawnee Mission school district to fire an administrator accused of harassment and inappropriate behavior.
The Shawnee Mission school board Tuesday morning appointed an investigator to look into allegations against Paul Colwell, the subject of a Star story on Sunday in which he was accused of making racist and sexist remarks, bullying and intimidation while he was principal at Horizons High School. Colwell is set to become an assistant principal at Shawnee Mission West for the upcoming school year.
The investigator is also charged with examining the district’s process for handling those complaints.
Colwell served as principal of the alternative school for five years. After a human resources investigation, he announced in March he would transfer to West.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, nearly 800 people had signed a Change.org petition called “Fire Paul Colwell.”
“School is supposed to be a safe and welcoming environment. Students should not have to walk in every morning afraid of being attacked by the authority figure who is supposed to protect them,” the petition states.
Earlier this year, staff members at Horizons filed complaints and grievances with the human resources department and emailed concerns to school board members.
Officials said in a statement that the district’s investigation into those complaints “was thorough and done in accordance with board policies.” At least one claim of sexual harassment was deemed substantiated and a violation of district policy, according to a document obtained by The Star.
But officials said they were proceeding with an outside investigation because, “The article included new information not previously reported. Given the new information contained in the article, and due to the now public nature of this issue, the district will secure a third party to conduct an independent and confidential investigation.”
During the special meeting Tuesday, board members agreed to appoint Shelly Freeman as an independent investigator, for a cost not to exceed $45,000. According to Freeman’s website, she was a labor and employment attorney and former human resources director who founded a consulting company that, among other services, conducts independent investigations.
At Tuesday’s meeting, school board member Jessica Hembree pressed Superintendent Mike Fulton on whether the investigation would include a review of the district’s process for handling staff complaints.
“I’m just trying to confirm that if there were any portions where we had complaints in front of us that we didn’t fully investigate that left students at risk, we would know that through this independent investigation as well,” Hembree said.
“When an independent investigation like this is done, they come and they start fresh,” Fulton said. “And they look at all of the data and they look at the processes as well, yes.”
He said the results of the investigation will be confidential and shared with board members in closed session.
“The district is always limited by law on what can be shared related to personnel and student issues,” officials said in a statement. “The district investigates concerns brought by students and staff in accordance with Board of Education policies and procedures, and takes appropriate action based on the outcome of those investigations. The district’s investigation was thorough and done in accordance with board policies.”
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 1:33 PM.
