NHUHSD’s Official Word On the Dan Johnson Imbroglio
Note: We’ll have a report on Fridays NHUHSD meeting in the next edition. Meanwhile, the following is a press release issued this afternoon by the Northern Humboldt Union High School District. It was sent out with the warning, “Note: Please do not alter language of press release.” We did add a “[sic]” after the misspelling of David McCullough’s name. – Ed.
July 26, 2013
PRESS RELEASE
Northern Humboldt Union High School District Board of Trustees
On July 26, 2013, the Northern Humboldt Union High School District Board of Trustees held a special meeting to publicly receive the statement of apology to the community by Board member Dan Johnson and consider community concerns and recommendations regarding the effects of Mr. Johnson’s speech. Although Mr. Johnson acted as an individual Board member and has responded as an individual, the NHUHSD Board feels it is important to make the following statement regarding the topic:
It is unfortunate that this situation is before us, and we apologize for not being able to meet earlier to hear public concern. Summer schedules made it difficult to have a majority of members present to meet in open session, as required by law, and prolonged our ability to address this issue. We appreciate Mr. Johnson writing a statement of apology. Admitting he made a mistake for not crediting Mr. McCollough[sic] for his words is important. However, we had hoped a statement of apology to the community would have been made much earlier and understand the public’s concern regarding accountability of Board members.
The NHUHSD Board of Trustees upholds academic integrity at all levels within the district and firmly believes that plagiarism is unacceptable. In order to respond to this event and prevent an action like this from occurring in the future, the Board will do the following:
- Modify the Board Bylaw on Governance Standards to explicitly establish protocols for approved academic and ethical standards for all communications. Current policy exists for students and personnel but not specifically for Board members.
- Review the format for our graduation ceremonies, including Board member participation.
- Develop and adopt a Board Governance Handbook that more clearly defines Board member roles and responsibilities.
The NHUHSD Board of Trustees thanks community members for their input on this important issue. We hope that the actions outlined above, and the support of the community, will enable all of us to move forward to a successful 2013-2014 school year for our students, faculty and staff.
