Tulsa Public Schools AD Resigns Amind Email Hacking Scandal

January 25, 2012 /
Tulsa World, Andrea Eger

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=332&articleid=20120125_19_A1_TulsaP966185&r=4946

After termination proceedings were initiated, the longtime TPS employee initially requested a due process hearing before the board of education.

But in a routine check for new information or public records related to the ongoing scandal in the TPS Athletic Department, the Tulsa World obtained a copy of Spring’s resignation.

Bo Rainey, an attorney representing TPS, submitted a form of resignation described as “acceptable to (Superintendent Keith) Ballard” to Spring’s attorney, and she signed and accepted it on Friday.

It includes the statement that Spring’s resignation is both voluntary and irrevocable and is effective Feb. 7, the date of the due process hearing she had requested. She will be paid the value of unused, accrued vacation and sick leave totaling about $15,400, according to the document.

TPS Spokesman Chris Payne said Ballard immediately accepted Spring’s resignation, but “because this issue is a confidential personnel matter, no one with the District will have any further comments about Dr. Spring or any issues with regard to her resignation.”

Spring issued a statement Tuesday evening, saying: “As a product of Tulsa Public Schools, I am proud to say I was blessed to have been with the district for 22 years, but time necessitated a change.

“I look forward to future opportunities and wish nothing but the best for the entire TPS family.”

Spring has been on suspension since early November, when the entire Athletic Department leadership erupted in scandal over a possible violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act.

The TPS Campus Police Department reported the possible violation to Tulsa police investigators after concerns arose during preparation for a due-process hearing for Cheryl Murphy, who had been suspended from her duties as Spring’s secretary.

During an interview with TPS attorney John Priddy, Spring and Assistant Athletic Directors Latricia Pruitt and Jon Wheeler reportedly disclosed that they had accessed Murphy’s personal emails – not her business account – “using a password they had located within Ms. Murphy’s vacated office.”

That disclosure reportedly caused Priddy to immediately end the interview and alert TPS administrators.

To date, no charges have been filed in the case. On Tuesday, First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond said, “The case presented to our office is still under review.”

Asked about his client’s resignation, Spring’s attorney Mark Lyons said: “It was a mutual decision that I think they’re just a little tired of each other. I think she is exceedingly highly regarded. She accomplished a lot and is very well thought of in many circles.”

Spring began working for TPS in August 1990, and in 1997 she became the district’s first female athletic director.

Lyons said he isn’t aware of Spring’s career plans.

As for the other figures involved, Pruitt was reinstated at TPS in the fall. After termination proceedings were begun against Wheeler, he agreed last week to resign in exchange for being paid the remainder of his annual salary and benefits.

Murphy, the secretary, was initially reinstated. But after administrators testified that she failed to report to work for new assignments she had been given in August and September, the school board voted to terminate her in December.


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