Pasco schools officials announced Wednesday that they would be moving forward with the hiring of a new superintendent.
The news comes after the district was rocked by the resignation of the longtime district superintendent, who stepped down amid a scandal involving sexual misconduct allegations against him.
Schools Superintendent Richard Gantt is leaving the school district, and the district has announced it will be taking over the district’s operations, starting Monday.
The district is in the process of hiring a new chief financial officer and a new interim superintendent, school officials said.
Gants resignation, announced Monday, came after more than a year of controversy and public outrage over sexual misconduct, the sexual misconduct of a teacher and a number of other incidents.
Pasco Schools Superintendent David Gantts resignation Monday followed his resignation from the district in May, after the District Attorney’s Office launched a criminal investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed a teacher.
In May, the district filed for bankruptcy protection, citing $1.6 million in liabilities, a loss of $1 million in state aid, and an increase in pension costs.
Pascos school board voted on Wednesday to fire Gant, but a spokesman for the school board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The superintendent is no longer the district district’s chief financial and human resources officer.
Gants resignation comes as the district struggles to navigate a series of financial and legal issues, including the state’s ongoing criminal investigation of the district.
G.B. 2 schools superintendent, David Gants, has resigned from the Pasco school board.
(Wanda Gaskin/Associated Press) Gant’s resignation comes after a tumultuous year for Pasco.
The school district was the subject of two federal investigations into sexual misconduct and teacher misconduct, which culminated in a settlement that included $4 million in damages.
That settlement has yet to be paid, however, because the district is still under the jurisdiction of the state.
Pasos district has faced a number problems over the past few years.
In July, Gant was suspended for violating a sexual harassment policy and was later fired for violating an ethics code violation.
He later received a state reprimand, but later was reinstated and eventually hired as a principal.
The investigation into the sexual harassment allegations that resulted in Gant s suspension was announced last year by the district and concluded that Gant did not commit a crime, though the investigation found that he may have violated district policies.
Paso schools Superintendent David “Dave” Gant touts his leadership as a turnaround story.
(Mark Peterson/Associated Council) G.D.G.S. The Pasco district is one of several public school districts in the country that have faced allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.
In January, the American Civil Liberties Union of California released a report on sexual harassment in public school in the state, which found that a quarter of public school teachers and staff had experienced harassment in the past year.
PasCo’s district was also the subject for a federal investigation into sexual harassment, which was also dropped in May.
The U.S., the District of Columbia and many states have laws that require schools to address sexual harassment issues.
Pasocos district had been under state investigation for several years, including a civil rights lawsuit filed by a teacher who was fired after she reported that her teacher made unwanted sexual advances to her and another teacher.
The teacher, who was also a teacher, claimed that her district violated the school code and that G. D. Gertz, Pasco’s former superintendent, had sexual relations with her.
The federal investigation found Gerts misconduct and led to his termination in October.
The state has since released a statement about the investigation into Gertts conduct, which included the allegation that he had sexual contact with a teacher that was not consensual.
The report also included allegations that Gertt had a history of inappropriate behavior with students, including having sex with one student and another student, when they were students at his school.
The lawsuit alleged that the district allowed Gertis to stay on as district superintendent even after the allegations against the teacher became public, because he had access to resources for handling the allegations.
Gonts attorney did not respond to an email requesting comment on the report.
The resignation comes just days after the Pasos school board appointed Gant to replace longtime superintendent Richard Gantz.
The board had earlier voted to fire the superintendent after a sexual misconduct complaint was filed against him by a student.
Gantz resigned from his post as superintendent in March and was replaced by a new principal, who has been credited with taking over Gantz s work.
GANTT HAS NEVER BEEN A TAXPAYER In addition to his work as Pasco s superintendent, Gantz is a licensed real estate broker and has been a district administrator for years.
The county auditor has said that Gantz has never been a taxpayer.
He also said that the county attorney would be reviewing the board’s decision to fire him.
Gantis office spokesman, Dave Lauterbach
