A Weld County high school principal remains on the job with a written warning despite allegations of inappropriate behavior and responses to a variety of matters including race and bullying with incidents dating to at least 2019.
In late April, Roosevelt principal Brian Littlefield at the Johnstown school received a written warning and letter of directives from a Weld RE-5J School District supervisor in response to seven allegations made against him this spring.
The allegations ranged from: failing to respond appropriately to race-related issues at the high school including a February incident in which a student hijacked a virtual Roosevelt pep rally using a racist screen name; two different instances of the use of derogatory terms during a ninth grade assembly, and slang toward students and the LBGTQ community; different treatment of male and female leaders; not being responsive to parent and student concerns about a bullying incident; not being prepared for contract negotiations with teachers; and failing to implement timely procedure and protocol on school safety measures.
The written warning and letter to Littlefield was issued after the Milliken-based district hired an independent, third-party investigator to look into the allegations against Littlefield — as well as allegations the principal brought against superintendent Leslie Arnold and director of human resources Cara Anderson, according to the letter obtained by the Greeley Tribune with two other related documents through a records request.
One of those documents was a detailed, 11-page account of the Littlefield investigation with names redacted.
Littlefield, who has a doctorate in K-12 Educational Leadership, has nearly 30 years in education including more than 20 years as a school administrator, according to a short biography on the school district website. His background lists roles from teacher and coach to assistant principal and principal among his titles.
The April 27 letter from district alternate compliance officer Tami S. Kramer to Littlefield said the Weld RE-5J board of education found the complaints against Littlefield to have merit, while concluding Littlefield’s complaints against Arnold and Anderson will be addressed separately.
Three allegations against Arnold were found to be unsubstantiated, according to the district documents: creating a hostile work environment for Littlefield; targeting Littlefield; and retaliating against him.
One allegation of Anderson creating a hostile work environment for Littlefield was also found to be unsubstantiated.
“Through the use of the independent investigator, the Board has additionally worked with the District’s legal counsel to determine merits of the allegations and appropriate next steps,” according to Kramer’s letter to Littlefield.
The letter added that based on the determined merits of the allegations, the board of education is providing Littlefield with a written warning outlining 13 directives. Kramer’s letter warned Littlefield that failure to follow the directives “and any new similar allegations that are substantiated may lead to additional discipline, up to and including termination.”
The 13 directives include: an awareness of race-related issues and discrimination-related issues at the high school involving students or employees and reporting those immediately; treating all people with respect and professionalism; not making mocking comments or jokes based on sexual orientation or LGBTQ status; treating all female employees equally and not discriminating against them when making committee or job assignments; appropriately and promptly handling bullying complaints and contacting Kramer on the day the issues come up while working with her on next steps; responding within 24 hours on any parent communications about a student; meeting weekly with Kramer in place of current one-on-one meetings with Arnold.
As of Tuesday evening, Littlefield did not return a message left on his school voice mail seeking comment. Arnold’s voice mail was full, which was one of the general complaints mentioned against Littlefield.
In a text message seeking comment, Arnold asked for continued conversation with board of education president Michael Wailes. Wailes wrote in an email, “the District received allegations, investigated the allegations, and took appropriate next steps for the personnel matter.” He added he is not able to comment further citing confidentiality of personnel matters.
The 11-page investigation document revealed an early January incident involving Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter flags.
According to the document, Littlefield was notified on Jan. 7 that a Black Lives Matter sign was hanging upside down behind a teacher during a Zoom lesson. Littlefield asked the teacher to take down the sign.
Later on the same day, two individuals whose names were redacted were notified that a Blue Lives Matter flag – signaling support for law enforcement — was flying in the high school.
The presence of the Blue Lives Matter flag was offensive to someone, who’s named was also redcted and who previously reported to Littlefield being uncomfortable by the flag before the discovery of the upside down Black Lives Matter signage.
Days later, a meeting about the signs or flags at the school took place. The discussion touched on the need for equal treatment for all students and employees, and a conversation on consistency in removal of controversial items from classrooms.
Littlefield was resistant to removing the Blue Lives Matter flag on the basis that no one complained about it and he was corrected on that point, according to the investigation document. Littlefield’s focus was on the flag and law enforcement officers’ feelings about its removal.
“The fact that his concern should be across the board rather than just on what the police would think was stated,” according to the document.
Littlefield was asked about the incident in March and denied saying he felt badly for a specific officer.
In addition, following two incidents of racism involving students in late February, Littlefield was directed to work through implicit bias in the school by creating an inclusivity program for students and staff.
Littlefield was given a March 12 deadline to submit the plan to an unidentified individual, who said the district would pay up to $5,000 for the principal to deliver the program to students and staff.
In late February, Littlefield’s response was questioned after a student choose an internet slang name designed to trick someone into using an racial slur for Black people as a screen name while on Zoom.
Multiple students saw the screen name, according to the investigation document. Littlefield was asked about the situation in a 7-minute telephone conversation with an unidentified individual, who expressed concern that news of the Zoom hijacking would circulate widely and turn into “another piñata incident.”
In 2017, a Roosevelt High School teacher was accused of letting students smash a piñata in the image of then-President Donald Trump. Photos and video got out on the “piñata incident” and it made national news.
Littlefield’s reaction to the Feb. 25 incident was “kids will be kids and it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
The unidentified individual then discussed implicit bias and a concern about what some saw as a general intolerance for racial diversity and bias within the school and the community at large. Littlefield and that individual disagreed over the tone the Zoom incident could have on the school, prompting the addition of the inclusivity program into his directive.
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