KY education agency investigation finds irregularity in Fayette school council election
Before Ronda Runyon retired as principal of Morton Middle School, she and other school administrators were “too involved” in school council teacher elections, a recent state investigation found.
The finding was in a June 8, 2021 Kentucky Office of Education Accountability investigative report the Herald-Leader obtained Tuesday under the state Open Records Act.
Investigators heard accounts from multiple people about the school administrators’ alleged roles in the March-April 2019 elections for the 2019-2020 school year, including that they were in the school library for the voting. No administration official should be in the room at the time the election is held, the report said.
In Kentucky, school councils are powerful, setting school policies and making several key decisions about what goes on in the building.
Kentucky law empowers the OEA to investigate complaints alleging violations of education statutes and regulations. The agency is mandated to resolve the conflict or forward the matter to the Kentucky Board of Education. Many investigations across the state center around allegations about school councils.
The report said if Runyon returns to active employment in Kentucky education, she must get two hours training on Kentucky school based decision making councils and notify the state she has completed it.
Runyon’s response to the allegations were included in the report. She said she did not attempt to bias the election. District officials did not respond to questions about the report Tuesday.
According to the report, the Kentucky Department of Education advises that principals can have a limited role in the teacher elections, but can’t set or monitor election procedures, nominations, balloting or counting votes.
“OEA concludes that Principal Ronda Runyon became too involved in the teacher representative school council elections,” the report said, “and should only provide basic logistical support in the future.”
Assistant Principal Andy Williams and Lisa Owens, an administrator who provided instructional support and technical assistance to staff “should not attend the elections, which are to be conducted by the teachers,” the report said.
Runyon was quoted in the report saying she did not nominate or select candidates for the council and did not view any of the ballots.
According to the report, she said she was present for the election and answered teachers’ procedural questions, but she did not attempt to bias any teacher’s decisions. The report said Runyon said she placed a sealed and stapled envelope containing the ballots in a secure filing cabinet.
Runyon said she did not see Williams or Owens sitting by the ballot box, the report said.
