Last month, a rural Northwest Lane County School District’s top administrator resigned.
The Blachly School District Board had planned to discuss disciplining, or dismissing an "unnamed public employee," but ended up quietly accepting the resignation of their superintendent, Adam Watkins, instead.
Documents that KLCC obtained through a public records request show that behind the scenes, the district hired an outside investigator to follow up on conflict of interest concerns raised by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.
The investigator, Keith Ussery, found evidence that Watkins may have violated the district’s financial and ethical policies by allegedly creating a job for his wife, increasing his own pay, and overspending while traveling.
Blachly School District has just one school, Triangle Lake Charter School, and a little over 400 students. About half of those students are taking online classes.
The investigator alleged Watkins created an online school counselor independent contracting job for his wife.
That job was allegedly only advertised, or offered, to Watkins' wife. The investigator also found evidence that while she worked for the Blachly School District, she also appeared to have a full-time job at another school district.
She was paid nearly $90,000 over three years.
The Oregon Ethics Commission launched an investigation into that allegation in August, but has not yet released final findings.
The district’s investigator also found evidence that Watkins increased his own salary without the school board’s knowledge, or approval. Between July 2021 and March of this year, he received nearly $58,000 dollars of extra pay not authorized by his contract.
In an interview with the investigator, Watkins said he and the districts’ business manager received extra compensation for grant management work they were doing.
That business manager, who also helped hire Watkins' wife, retired over the summer.
Watkins told the investigator that the school board was aware of the additional compensation he was receiving for grant management.
School Board Chair Derek Pennel told the investigator he did not know about it, and immediately intervened when he found out.
The investigator also had concerns about Watkins' use of the district’s purchase card, and his travel expenses.
He found several instances where Watkins exceeded the daily rate public employees are allowed to spend when traveling. Watkins also did not always provide receipts of his expenses, or provided receipts that indicated he may have used district funds to cover a family member’s meal.
The investigator also flagged a few unusual purchases, including a suit, cases of energy drinks and a souvenir coffee cup from Hayward Field.
During his interview with the investigator, Watkins said his purchases were work related, or were gifts for students and staff.
Watkins' attorney, Nathan Rietmann, provided an emailed statement to KLCC, saying the investigation was "biased" and that "the allegations in the report are misleading and do not accurately reflect Mr. Watkins' actions or intentions.”
In response to emailed questions, School Board Chair Derek Pennel said the district’s annual audit didn’t raise any red flags about unusual spending. He said the district is in the midst of updating its financial policies and tightening oversight.
He said the district could also not comment on whether there were any efforts to recover funds from Watkins, or his wife.
In the statement, Rietmann also said his Watkins' resignation was to allow the district to move forward, without the "distraction of a prolonged dispute" over the investigation.
“We are confident that, over time, his record of service will be remembered for the positive impact he made,” Rietmann said. “During his tenure, many meaningful initiatives and improvements were implemented that continue to benefit the district and its students."
Pennel said Interim Superintendent Brittany Bottensek, who has been overseeing day to day operations at the district since Watkins was put on leave in August, will lead the district for the rest of the academic year. Bottensek has worked at the district since 2011, most recently as principal.
