Coggins report: Did Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles buy former communication chief’s silence?
Mike Miles and Rebecca Rodriguez.
The independent investigation of Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles raises questions about his motivation for offering a large severance to a former communications chief who filed a complaint against him.
Rebecca Rodriguez, the communications chief, filed a report with the district’s Office of Professional Responsibility on June 14 over concerns she had with Miles’ handling of parent services contract award. Miles had discussed the contract with trustees in a June 13 board briefing.
About 10 days after Rodriguez filed the complaint, Miles informed Don Smith, who oversees OPR, to cease the district’s investigation because of a Rodriguez’s pending severance.
The independent investigation raised concerns with severance amount and the deal’s “non- disparagement” clause. Rodriguez received four months of pay — about $51,600 — after she worked in DISD for only three months. The deal also included a clause that essentially prohibited Rodriguez from speaking out about her concerns with Miles.
“The fact that Superintendent Miles played a direct and substantial role in negotiating the terms of Rodriguez’s severance during the pendency of an OPR complaint she filed against him raises clear conflict of interest concerns,” states the investigative report by attorney Paul Coggins. “Indeed, the
Dallas is not the only place with superintendent/school board tensions
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