The Three Rivers School Board decided Wednesday not to take further action against member Rick Nelson following a consultant’s investigation into his conduct.
The investigation began after district staff raised concerns about Nelson’s comments and behavior.
The report, completed by Stingray Investigations and Consulting, said Nelson made comments about what he called "the LGBTQ+ lifestyle" and carried a binder with a rainbow symbol crossed out. Staff members told investigators the comments and binder were perceived as hostile and exclusionary.
But the report did not find that Nelson violated state law or district policy.
Multiple residents spoke in support of Nelson during the meeting, saying he does not want schools to push LGBTQ+ issues.
"Instead, he wants the schools to teach the 3 Rs. What's wrong with that?" resident Becky Lemler said. "This is exactly why we elected him, and it's exactly what the school should be doing. The job of the school board is to protect our children and watch out for their best interests — not confuse them."
Resident Patrick Rooney argued Nelson was exercising his right to free speech.
"The First Amendment to the Constitution says this man [Nelson] can speak up for himself," Rooney said. "He's not harassing anybody. He's not doing anything wrong. He's just giving his opinion. Why is his opinion so scary? Because I think it's right."
Board members said they thought the report overstepped and encouraged those with complaints about Nelson to speak with him directly.
"We don't give up our First Amendment rights when we come onto the board, even if those are maybe not something that we agree with," Vice Chair Mariah Rossi. said "It's still important to uphold free speech."
She also encouraged Nelson to be more thoughtful about how he expresses his views.
Nelson said he doesn’t want schools to teach children about a way of life he considers wrong.
"I don't apologize for any time I can speak the truth, ever," he said. "I will continue to represent the community — both the gay community, Christians, Muslims, whatever —because we're all in this together. There is no evil people. In my mind, we're all good."
The report also detailed concerns about Nelson's comments regarding women. In one instance, Nelson responded, "but you're a woman," after a staff member mentioned her math degree.
"The investigation was not designed to decide whether Mr. Nelson may hold personal, political, or religious beliefs. He may," the report reads. "The operative questions are whether, while acting as a school board member, his conduct complied with board role boundaries, collective governance expectations, public meeting requirements, District policy, nondiscrimination obligations, and professional-boundary standards."
It concludes that Nelson's conduct was "inconsistent with core board governance expectations, raised nondiscrimination and harassment concerns, created potential risk for students and staff, and may have increased liability risk for the District if not addressed."
Nelson was narrowly elected to his seat last year after losing the race in 2021.
Separately, the report also mentioned a concern regarding Board Chair Pat Kelly.
It says a complainant reported that Kelly approached them to discuss the pending complaint and investigation involving Nelson. Investigators said Kelly did not respond when they attempted to contact him.
The board did not discuss the report’s findings about Kelly during Wednesday’s meeting.
