Commission Finds Robert Dunton Violated Laws

 The Oregon Government Ethics Commission investigated Bob Dunton and Sheri Dunton and found sufficient evidence that Bob Dunton was in violations of ORS 244.040, ORS 244.120, ORS 244.177 and ORS 244.179 in April of 2016. 

Audio from the Commission:

Audio from commission findings were avaialable at this address until recently:
https://www.oregon.gov/OGEC/docs/minutes/2016%20Minutes/2016.04.08%20Reg%20Session%20Pt%201b.MP3

SPECIFIC ORS VIOLATIONS INCLUDE:

244.040 – Prohibited use of official position or office

244.177 – Employment of relative or member of household

244.179 – Supervision of relative or member of household

SUMMARY

A few details explained in the audio file (above link) include that the “Charter School Board” was comprised of all Charter School Parents and the Duntons.  Bob Dunton set his own salary as Director of the Charter and, by the way, he was still the Superintendent of the Corbett School District the first year of the Charter. (Abuse of office/conflict of interest). Bob also hired and set his wife’s salary and he hired his daughter at the Charter as well. (Conflict of interest/Nepotism). The Dunton family in total made over $325,000 a year for a school with less than 500 students.

The link to the above audio file (if you can not use the above player) can be found by copying and pasting the following into your browser address field:

www.oregon.gov/OGEC/docs/minutes/2016%20Minutes/2016.04.08%20Reg%20Session%20Pt%201b.MP3

Corbett Charter School Board

Bob Dunton served as both the Corbett School District (CSD) Superintendent AND the Charter Director the first year of the Charter School. Randy Trani (personal friend of Bob Dunton who worked with him back in Alaska years before) was appointed by the school board as the new Superintendent. There were no other candidates.

The original 990 on file with the state lists Randy Trani as President of the Charter (as of 2016 Randy is still the CSD superintendent – even after four GO Bond Failures since 2013 and the news of his affair with a married staff member became public).

As of 9/26/2010 the Charter School’s board was listed as:

Charlie O’Neil
Charlie had been the longest serving board member in CSD and a huge advocate and supporter of Superintendent (later Charter Director) Bob Dunton and Supt. Randy Trani. Charlie served both on the Charter and CSD school board at that time. Charlie resigned in August 2015. He cited reasons that had to do with wanting to spend more time with family. However, this did come on the heels of the third bond failure and Superintendent Trani’s affair with a married staff member became public. As the board chair at the time of Randy’s affair, the affair was quickly called a “personnel issue”. The school board never met to discuss the issue of the Superintendent’s affair at all and no action was taken. (Trani actually received higher marks and a raise the following year by the school board.) 

Derek Jaques
High School Assistant Principal at that time the Charter was created. He left Corbett and was rumored to have left (at least in part) because of problems with Dunton. He was re-hired by Randy Trani for a brief period before leaving again around the time Trani tried to open a “STEM SCHOOL”. This was a school “on paper” similar to the Charter and meant to help us artificially deflate the numbers of kids at our high school. This school was denied and actually led to CSD losing our small school funding from the State of Oregon.
Derek started at CSD as a coach…. and then earned his teaching license ….and was then made Assistant Principal. 

Phil Pearson
Current High School Assistant Principal.  (2016)
Before the Charter he was a teacher – came to Corbett as a first year teacher.

Lori Luna
Current Middle School Assistant Principal. (2016)
Before the Charter she was a teacher – came to Corbett as a first/second year teacher.

Nancy Gyerko
Current CSD employee. Working full time at CAPS/Springdale School (2016)
Before the Charter she was a  volunteer and PTA president.

Here is more history on how the Charter came to be here.