USC’s Lorentz faces allegations over his conduct
Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 16, 2002
Undisclosed allegations about the personal conduct of United South Central Superintendent Frank Lorentz are being investigated by the USC school board, according to Pat Staloch, the chairman of the board.
&uot;There is an investigation in progress,&uot; Staloch said. &uot;There have been some allegations, but those aren’t public.&uot; Staloch did not disclose the name of the law firm the board has hired and did not say who was performing the investigation.
An unsigned fax from a district fax number, containing unverified allegations against Lorentz, was sent out on Friday night to media. According to the fax, personal conduct issues are the issue of investigation.
The sender of the fax, who has not been identified, was unauthorized to do so, according to the district. School Liaison Peter Robbins is investigating. Teachers in the district have said they have known investigations were going on but did not know the nature of them.
&uot;I have no concrete knowledge of it,&uot; teacher Jim Sand said. &uot;I do know that there have been some investigations.&uot;
Karen Robbins, a teacher at the Wells Elementary School and the president of the teacher’s union, said that teachers and students have been questioned in the past month.
On Friday, Nov. 8, the teacher’s union voted 57-25 to accept a recent contract offer from the district nine days ago.
&uot;One of the factors of why we didn’t strike is that there is an investigation taking place and a strike would have ripped the district apart,&uot; Sand said.
The board will have a closed-door meeting to discuss the investigation 5:30 p.m. Monday night. The meeting will be private under Minnesota Statute 13D.05, which allows meetings about personal conduct to be private unless disciplinary action is taken.
Lorentz did not return calls.