Public Records Request Shows School Board Member Used City Email to Promote Agenda
Larry Coonrod
Lebanon Express Writer
After receiving several tips that suggested two City of Lebanon employees were using their city email accounts to conduct business concerning the school district, the Lebanon Express filed a public documents request to determine if the allegations were true.
The Express requested e-mails to or from city employees Ginger Allen and Debi Shimmin between July 20 and Aug. 31, 2007 using keywords, including the names of school board members, Superintendent Jim Robinson and former district athletic director Bo Yates. The search yielded four relevant e-mails for Allen and about three dozen for Shimmin.
Shimmin, an administrative assistant in the public works department, also serves as a member of the Lebanon Community School Board. As detailed in a story in the Aug. 17 edition of the Express, Shimmin used her city e-mail to discuss Robinson's decision not to renew Yates' one-year-extra-duty athletic director contract and her concerns about possible legal consequences for her and two other board members after their Aug. 1 decision to put Robinson on administrative leave pending a review of his performance.
The records show that Allen used her city email to write and send a speech to Mayor Ken Toombs that he delivered at the Aug. 6 school board meeting.
In his speech, Toombs spoke of how the previous fall there was a feeling in the air of something that had been missing. “If there's one thing that can bring Lebanon together, it's Warrior sports," the mayor said, using Allen's prepared remarks. Toombs went on to praise the board, using Allen's words to describe their action to suspend the school superintendent as “a bold and courageous move" and encouraged them to “stay your course."
Allen is the wife of Lebanon High School head football coach Rob Allen. The Warriors' winning 2006 football season has been credited by many in the community as giving Lebanon a renewed sense of pride.
An Aug. 31 e-mail also shows Ginger Allen using her city email to contact the Umpqua Post newspaper about articles relating to Robinson's tenure as superintendent of the Reedsport School District.
Lebanon's communication and software systems policy does allow employees some personal use of city computers, including email. The policy states that personal use of computers is to be limited to breaks and lunch. The time stamp on Shimmin and Ginger Allen's e-mail are from different times during the day, but the Express could not determine whether or not the times coincided with their breaks and lunch.
Hitt said he had seen the documents released to the Express but declined to comment on whether Shimmin or Ginger Allen violated city policy.
Ginger Allen and Shimmin have declined to comment on the documents received by the Express.
Section four of the city policy states that “All computer-based information is subject to public release under terms of the Oregon State Public Records Act. Assume that any information you store, transmit or receive on your computer can and will be made available to the public."
Hitt said all employees are made aware of the policy upon hiring.
