Greeley-Evans School District 6 board member Brett Reese may be censured today by his fellow board members for allegedly sexually harassing a teacher and being drunk during a board meeting.
Reese strongly denied the accusations and said Wednesday they were being leveled by his political enemies.
“Even the greenest political intern understands what these latest accusations amount to,” Reese said in a statement he read during a recess at a special board meeting Wednesday. “All that is required in the world of politics is to accuse your opponent of moral degradations — no foundation or evidence necessary!”
“I have no time for this absurd stupidity,” he added.
A censure is not a legal penalty. But it does shine a spotlight on a board member who others feel is not filling a leadership role in the the district, said Jane Urschel, deputy executive director of the Colorado Association of School Boards.
“One board member can cause the full board not to be functional,” Urschel said. “This board is sending a message that they need him to step up to his leadership responsibilities.”
Reese attracted controversy not long after he was elected to the board in 2009. His radio station aired an opinion piece in January heavily criticizing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He then said he would begin carrying a gun to board meetings to protect himself after he started receiving threats.
Reese on Wednesday publicly challenged the latest allegations that he sexually harassed a teacher at Winograd K-8 School on May 9 and that he showed up drunk at a board meeting that same night.
Reese said after a work session at Winograd, he and his daughter stopped to talk to a teacher standing in her classroom. During their conversation, Reese complimented the woman on her large wedding ring.
“I briefly touched her ring finger while we admired the carat-and-a- half diamond,” Reese said. “This is the only touch that happened.”
“I try to make it a habit to never be alone with women in order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety,” Reese added.
He also denied being drunk, saying he doesn’t drink. He was never administered a Breathalyzer test, a blood test or a field-sobriety check.
Reese said he also spoke to a police officer at the school.
“If he or anyone in that building thought I was under the influence, why was I allowed to drive my 13-year-old daughter home?” Reese said.
A letter outlining the allegations against Reese was sent to him Tuesday, a day after he angrily left during a regular meeting of the board. In the letter, board president Linda Trimberger said she tried to talk to Reese privately about the accusations last week but he refused to meet with her.
The board also wanted to talk to Reese about the allegations Tuesday night in executive session, but he left before the board could do so.
“The conduct, if occurred, violates the board’s policies for school-board-member conduct . . . sexual discrimination and harassment . . . and the code of ethics for school-board members,” Trimberger said.
