The Montrose County School District Board of Education voted at a special meeting Tuesday night to place Superintendent Dr. Carrie Stephenson on paid, non-disciplinary leave.
The decision is tied to an ongoing third-party investigation into former Olathe Elementary School principal Jennifer Hesse. The specific allegations against Hesse have not been made public.
The board had previously considered placing Stephenson on leave. That motion failed. Tuesday's special meeting, publicly noticed just one day before, was called specifically to reconsider the question.
During the meeting, it emerged that several Olathe Elementary employees accused Stephenson of intimidating them at a recent meeting, alleging she made them feel they could not speak freely about the Hesse investigation. Stephenson pushed back firmly.
"Now tonight, the board is considering another serious employment action based on an allegation I deny without my having been asked for my account before this special meeting was called," she said.
Stephenson then turned the tables, announcing she was filing a formal grievance against the board itself. She alleged governance violations, problems with her superintendent evaluation process, and retaliation — and pointed specifically at board president Balleck.
"At the center of this grievance is a continuing pattern in which individual board members, particularly President Balleck, have acted outside the authority of the board as a body," Stephenson said.
Board member Tiffany Vincent spoke in favor of placing Stephenson on leave, framing it as a protective measure.
"This is just a way to keep everybody isolated so that there's not more being piled on," Vincent said.
The board discussed at length how district operations would continue during Stephenson's absence. The board ultimately voted to have Dr. Jessica Kalb, the district's Executive Director of Academic Services, take over Stephenson's responsibilities. Kalb said she would accept the role pending certain conditions.
The board's law firm, Miller Farmer Carlson Law, also came up. KVNF previously reported that firm founder Brad Miller told an education conference that conservative school boards should secure superintendents aligned with their agenda.
"They needed to make sure that they had engaged a superintendent that's aligned with them," Miller said at that conference.
Stephenson's paid leave begins June 3rd. The board may still contact her for certain tasks during that time.
KVNF will continue covering this story.
