In December of 2016, The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board approved a normally routine item that evening – the consent agenda. That item rolls into a long list of actions. Included in it are usually resignations, retirements, hiring employees, etc. For the first time I know, buried in that consent agenda, was a 5-day suspension for Employee Number 10042. I must admit, I did not pick up on it, and no other journalist found it, except one – Bob Segall of WTHR’s 13Investigates.
He pressed the school corporation for the name of the suspended staff member, and HSE School officials disclosed the suspension was given to Fishers High School football coach Rick Wimmer.
Since that time, HSE has refused to provide more than general, vague information about why Coach Wimmer was suspended. Twice 13Investigates has asked for opinions from the Indiana Public Access Counselor, an expert on state laws relating to open records and an appointee of the governor, on whether HSE has followed the law in refusing to disclose any specific facts about why Coach Wimmer was suspended. Counselor Luke Britt has twice issued opinions clearly stating HSE must disclose specific facts about this suspension.
Yet, HSE has twice refused to follow those opinions. Now Public Counselor Britt has done an on-camera interview with 13Investigates’ Segall to make the incredible statement that HSE officials “don’t get it” when interpreting his opinions. It is highly unusual for a public counselor to make a statement like that on television.
The 13Investigates team has the option of going to court and forcing the issue before a judge. But Segall said in his most recent story that WTHR is proposing that HSE privately disclose to Britt the specific facts related to the Coach Wimmer suspension so Britt may determine whether HSE has any legally valid reason not to disclose the facts of this suspension. HSE has not yet responded to that proposal from Segall and his team.
Segall is also asking HSE Schools how much this legal battle is costing the school corporation in additional legal fees. So far, HSE has not responded.
If HSE somehow thinks 13Investigates will give up on this story, keep in mind that it is very rare for a local television news operation to win a Peabody Award, described as the Oscars of the news business. In the last round, 13Investigates won not one, but two Peabody awards. The 13Investigates team knows what they are doing.
There are many more details contained on the latest story from 13Investigates. You can read the story, and watch the video of the story that aired on the 5:30pm WTHR newscast on July 14th, at this link.