Della Curry, a Cherry Creek Schools kitchen manager who said she was fired for feeding hungry children in violation of school regulations, has made public documents that she says back her claims.
However, school district spokeswoman Tustin Amole said Curry has selectively released information that doesn’t reveal all the reasons for her termination. The district has insisted the records are not subject to Colorado’s open records laws and has refused to release them. Experts on the law say the district is incorrectly interpreting the law and should release performance reviews.
Curry, who worked at Dakota Valley Elementary School, on Wednesday.
She refused to provide the information to The Denver Post, saying that she doesn’t want to further engage in a public dispute with the district.
According to CBS4, Curry received a review that said she exceeded expectations in several areas and was “excellent” and “a welcoming presence.”
The file also says she lost her job for “giving away food at no charge.”
Although Curry received a positive employee evaluation April 28, Amole said, “after that we began to receive reports from other staff and co-workers about violations of district policies and USDA regulations.”
CBS4 also reported that the termination letter indicated “cash register checkout problems” and issues with cellphone use.
, the district opened an independent review that confirmed the dismissal was justified and found additional violations, Amole said.
“We have a disgruntled former employee who was dismissed for cause who has decided to release selectively information from her personnel file but has declined to give us permission to release all the information that led to her dismissal,” Amole said.
Curry said she plans to continue pushing for changes to district regulations that govern feeding children. She plans to attend an Aug. 10 school board meeting, she said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee
