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When Chris Hand (pictured below) first accused Michelle Ragan of crimes of moral turpitude, there were two separate cases in which she was charged. One was the complaint to the Alabama Board of Ethics which judged the Colbert County administrator guilty of minor violations. The second investigation was by the school board (to be referred to the district attorney if findings warranted).
Last week, Ragan faced the second hurdle to clear her name - a school board hearing that took the better part of a day. While the TimesDaily stated the board ruled in her favor by a vote of 4-2, our sources tell us it was actually 4-1-1. Ricky Saint voted to terminate Ragan, while Jackie Witt abstained. The board recommended a new assignment for Ragan outside the office of superintendent Chris Hand.
Present at the hearing were the board's interim attorney John McGee, Ragan's attorney Robert Lockwood, and Hand's attorney Taylor P. Brooks of Huntsville. According to his website, Brooks represents those who are accused of unfairly terminating an employee, especially in the world of education.
Now the question is: Who paid Brooks' fee? Did Chris Hand pay to have Brooks observe "just in case" or did the board feel that Hand needed extra protection in this situation? If it's the latter, Colbert County taxpayers funded Brooks' fee which we're pretty sure wasn't cheap.
All in all, how much have the charges against Michelle Ragan cost the people of Colbert County?
In today's World of Litigious Mania, it's always a good idea to have your own attorney. Not having one is when problems can grow out of control.
ReplyDeleteAllegedly, Ragan should never have mixed her family’s/husband’s business on a School Board’s computer, nor, allegedly, should she have devoted any county-paid time to that business. At the very least, it was a dumb thing for her to do and at the very worst, it gives the strong impression of culpability.
Do we have all of the facts? No. Will we ever have all the facts? I doubt it.
Meantime, we have to trust that Chris Hand is doing the best for Colbert County School System, despite being attacked from multiple sides, including the vindictive previous Superintendent.