Longtime resident says district 'ruined' teacher's reputation, urges board to act

Brad Landreth, a Columbia resident who said he has been involved with the district for nearly 50 years as a student, teacher, coach and administrator, told the Board of Education that district actions had “ruined Ms. Bedard's reputation and career.” He urged the board to investigate how the matter was handled and to hold accountable those he said contributed to the damage.

Landreth criticized a complaint submitted by a teacher, identified in his remarks as Ms. Gaddy, and said an assistant superintendent he identified as Ms. Gainey was “ready to believe the worst before there was even an investigation.” He said the complaint stemmed from grievances and evaluation disputes and described the incident as a personnel conflict that was mishandled. “Even after it became abundantly clear that no inappropriate conduct had occurred, the district decided to take actions that destroyed Ms. Bedard's reputation and career,” Landreth said.

The complaint referenced behavior alleged to have taken place about four months earlier, and Landreth said he had emailed board members expressing disappointment in the district's handling. He urged the board to look more closely at the situation, saying some employees may now fear innocuous interactions with students could be misinterpreted. He also said he had shared an email he sent to other participants in the review process, including district leadership.

The board subsequently moved into an executive session on personnel and student-discipline matters at the end of the public meeting; the president told attendees that there was a possible action to follow from the closed session. The board did not announce any public action on the matter before entering executive session.

Why it matters: The remarks tied a personnel investigation to reputational harm for a named teacher and called for board oversight of district leadership decisions. The board's decision to enter executive session on personnel issues indicates the matter remains active or that further, nonpublic deliberation was expected.

What we did not find in the public record: The board made no public finding in the meeting transcript about whether Ms. Bedard was cleared, disciplined or otherwise; any formal personnel action that may have occurred was to be discussed in executive session and was not disclosed during the public portion of the meeting.