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Discussing Personnel Issues

When addressing personnel issues as a public school district, we have to balance many interests and responsibilities: an employee’s right to fairness and privacy, the privacy interests of any witnesses or complaining individual(s) (if applicable), and our duty to be transparent with our stakeholders, including students, families, and the community.

As we strive to balance these priorities, you may sometimes hear, “Salt Lake City School District does not comment on personnel issues.” We want to keep our stakeholders informed about critical updates, and we understand hearing that we don’t comment on personnel issues can be frustrating and may lead to speculation or misinformation. But we have good reasons for not sharing details about personnel matters.

Trust

We value our employees and the trust we’ve built with them. Allegations or concerns must be handled in a fair and confidential manner to ensure every employee’s right to a fair process. Publicly discussing personnel issues would damage that trust, could unfairly damage an employee’s reputation, and could deny an employee the right to an unbiased investigation or a fair hearing.

Privacy Laws

Federal and state laws protect the privacy of both employees and students. Sharing details about an employee’s work performance, alleged wrongdoing, ongoing investigation, or termination could violate these laws and expose the district to lawsuits and other legal risks.

Due Process

Employees have certain due process rights, including the right to be treated fairly. The district is committed to conducting thorough reviews of personnel concerns without releasing incomplete or potentially misleading information.

We strive to be as transparent as possible while respecting the rights of all involved. Our priority is creating a safe, supportive learning environment for students while honoring the professionalism and dignity of our employees.

When we are able to share information, we will. In some cases, however, all we can say is that we cannot discuss a personnel matter.