School board votes to suspend lawyer

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board voted unanimously last night to suspend Drew Davis, the school system's lawyer, pending the results of an investigation by the SBI into allegations that the school system violated state law by failing to promptly report allegations of possible wrongdoing by a teacher.

Earlier in the day, officials from the State Bureau of Investigation used a search warrant and removed at least one box of material from the school system's headquarters. The SBI also searched another undisclosed location. The search warrant was ordered sealed by Judge Richard Stone of Forsyth Superior Court.

The investigation stems from allegations made in early May that a teacher at an unidentified school took indecent liberties with students. Although school administrators reported the allegations to Davis, those allegations apparently were not passed on to law-enforcement officials.

"There was a determination not to do that," Donny Lambeth, the chairman of the school board said after a three-hour closed meeting. "We believe it was bad judgment, as we have seen the allegations by the students."

School officials declined to discuss further details about the May allegations, which remain under investigation.

Davis, who has worked for the school system since 2004, has hired Chuck Alexander, a Winston-Salem lawyer, to represent him.

"We've just been informed by the chairman of the board of the decision to suspend Mr. Davis with pay," Alexander said. "We welcome the involvement of the SBI and will cooperate. We believe at the end of the investigation they will completely exonerate Mr. Davis and any staff involved."

Last month, District Attorney Jim O'Neill asked for a meeting with school officials to talk about whether the allegations made in May had been properly handled.

On Aug. 26, Lambeth, Superintendent Don Martin and Buddy Collins, a school-board member who is also a lawyer, met with O'Neill. After the meeting, the school board hired the law firm of Bell Davis & Pitt to conduct an independent investigation.

Although the school board already had a meeting scheduled for Sept. 14, Lambeth called last night's special meeting to hear the results of the independent investigation. After Walter "Wrennie" Pitt and Alan Ruley presented the results in closed session, the board came back into open session, and Lambeth read a statement.

The statement proposed that the board would:

• Suspend Davis with pay.

• Have Pitt work with law-enforcement officials to support their criminal investigation and to make sure of the school system's cooperation.

• Have the superintendent make any necessary policy revisions.

• Maintain communication between the school board and district attorney's office.

Board member Vic Johnson was not present. Board member Jane Goins participated by phone from the Outer Banks. Lambeth reported that Goins was voting for all four points, and the seven board members present unanimously voted to support them.

Up until now, Martin said, the school system's policy has been for principals to first report allegations of wrongdoing to one of three people -- Martin, Davis or the principal's supervisor.

After conferring, a decision would be made jointly about whether the allegations were serious enough to warrant reporting to law-enforcement officials.

At a meeting yesterday morning, principals learned that from now on, principals in high schools and middle schools that have school resource officers will report such allegations directly to those officers. In the elementary schools, principals will report, perhaps through e-mail, to a designated law-enforcement official.

On July 1, the N.C. De­partment of Public Instruc­tion changed its policies on reporting, and those reports could include something as minor as a kindergarten student having his lunch money stolen.

At the principals' meeting, O'Neill and other law-enforcement officials -- including Sheriff Bill Schatzman and Police Chief Scott Cunningham -- spoke to principals about the expectations of law-enforcement officials.

Because the allegations date to early May, Lambeth said, there is some question about whether the Department of Public Instruction's policy required reporting them at that time.

Since July 1, he said, there is no question that such allegations should be reported to law-enforcement officials.

There is also no question about whether the administrative team at the school properly handled the allegations, Lambeth said.

The SBI's investigation into whether the system failed to promptly report an allegation of wrongdoing by a teacher could continue for weeks, and it is too early to tell whether it will result in criminal charges, Lambeth said.

"We have a long way to go."

kunderwood@wsjournal.com


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Journal reporter Scott Sexton contributed to this article.