Raceland complying with OEA findings

Oct. 29—RACELAND — A local school district is complying with resolutions put forth by the Office of Education Accountability following an investigation into six allegations of wrongdoing.

The OEA discovered no violations amid three of those allegations against Raceland-Worthington Schools.

For the remaining three, it offered resolutions with which Superintendent Larry Coldiron and the district are in compliance, the Oct. 17 report states.

"No laws were broken and nothing was done illegally at all," Coldiron said.

Raceland-Worthington's school board violated policy and procedure, according to the OEA, regarding a dance business's usage of school facilities — namely the board of education building.

According to the OEA report and Coldiron, the issues involving The Studio of Dance Kentucky are largely resolved — or in the process of being resolved.

Natalie Pence, Raceland's varsity dance coach since the 2013-14, resigned as a paid employee on Sept. 22, 2023, according to Coldiron. Pence also owns and operates The Studio of Dance Kentucky.

"She's still the coach, she just can't be a paid employee," said the superintendent.

Since she is coaching as a volunteer, she is permitted to continue operating The Studio of Dance Kentucky at the BOE building.

The board violated Policy 05.3, which states "the board shall not grant the use of school facilities for commercial purposes." The OEA also reported "the practicing of having the district finance officer operate as a bank for The Studio by accepting, holding and later releasing funds to The Studio goes beyond any acceptable arrangement of a school district cooperating with a local arts program."

In its resolution, the OEA said finance officer Dustin Stephenson is to stop handling The Studio of Dance Kentucky money and running it through district fund procedures.

The school board violated a procedure when it allowed the organization to use a school facility (the board room and the cultural arts center in the high school) for free, according to the OEA.

The OEA reported "the board must begin following its own Board Policy 05.3 by charging rental fees and for expenses for district and school facility usage, and making all users carry the required insurance."

According to the 19-page OEA report, Coldiron and the district are now in compliance with all of the resolutions mandated by the OEA with the exception of one — but that one is in the works.

Coldiron, Stephenson and all board members must obtain two hours of training by an OEA-approved trainer on the topic of "community use of school facilities." Training and proof of training is to be submitted to the OEA by Dec. 1, 2023.

Coldiron said the Oct. 23 board meeting minutes reflect that this particular training session is scheduled for Nov. 3.

The Studio of Dance Kentucky, which launched in 2021, continues to conduct classes daily at Raceland. Coldiron called it a "great thing for our students" and non-Raceland students as well.

"This gave us a chance to look our policies closer, and everything is in compliance now," he said.

Another allegation involved Raceland football coach Michael Salmons, who also serves as the district's food service director and FRAM (free reduced application management) coordinator. The allegation stated that Salmons had the title of Dean of Students on the RWHS website, but "he does not hold administrator certification."

As a result of the investigation, the OEA ruled that Salmons's "Dean of Students" title must be removed from the Raceland-Worthington High School website and stationery letterhead, his school staff profile, "and anywhere else it may occur."

"He never had the title Dean of Students," Coldiron said. "It was placed on the student handbook one year, somehow, and when I found out about it, we took care of it. ... I was not even aware of it being on the website."

Coldiron said the school never gave Salmons that title and never paid him for such position.

The OEA stated that Salmons must be paid from the district general fund for the FRAM portion of his employment, rather than 100% from the food service account.

"Mr. Salmons's salary sources and full-time equivalent of each must be indicative of his duties as coach, district food service director and FRAM coordinator, and paid from the appropriate fund," the OEA report states.

Coldiron said Salmons was initially a half-day teacher and half-day food service director until a state auditor recommended he become full time in food service sometime around 2019, according to the superintendent.

The OEA reported the following: "Superintendent Coldiron has submitted to OEA compliance with this resolution."

Coldiron said Salmons has always been paid from the appropriate fund.

The third allegation that garnered a resolution from the OEA involves a fifth-year student currently ranked 67th out of 67 students in the class with a cumulative grade-point average of 1.52.

The allegation was that the school "did not provide necessary interventions and opportunities for educational success, impeding the ability to graduate with their peers due to repeating a year."

Coldiron said he, Salmons, Principal Tom Collins and Andrea Coldiron, a longtime counselor, have tried many options to keep the student in school, including summer school — from which the student was expelled on the first day for behavioral conduct, according to the OEA report.

The OEA resolution: "Superintendent Coldiron is to ensure that district principals, counselors and teachers are aware of and comply with applicable policies and statutes regarding the availability of special services to ensure the academic success of all students. This includes awareness of extended school services and credit recovery."

Coldiron said this was the first OEA investigation in his 12 years as Raceland's superintendent. It began in March, he said. Overall, he is satisfied with the results.

"We feel comfortable with that investigation," he said.