Last week KCE reported that Jack Musha was out as Bristol School District administrator. We have since received investigative reports from the district that highlight a long list of allegations of misconduct against the outgoing administrator. The district’s legal counsel, Shana Lewis, heavily redacted the records that re received. She had previously given Musha advice that he could deny a public records request to KCE becuase we made a date typo on a request. Musha didn’t take her bad and unethical advice. Lewis works for the law firm Renning, Lewis & Lacy out of Madison.
Musha, 44, tendered his resignation last week and his last day with the district is December 31, 2024. According to public records, the board was poised to terminate Musha and Musha decided to resign in lieu of termination. He was hired as the district’s administrator in 2021. He has not reported to work at all this school year and has been on a board-approved leave at least for most of the year, which KCE believes was administrative in nature.
A member of the district’s administrative team filed a harassment complaint against Musha, and the district hired a law firm to investigate those accusations. The investigation concluded that Musha didn’t discriminate against the staffer based on a protected status. This investigation, however, seemingly uncovered other alleged misconduct by Musha. The board of education also made allegations against Musha.
For example, witnesses heard Musha call the board president “that bitch” and its vice president a “cunt.” Reached for comment today, both board president Tina Elfering and board vice-president Joanne Gray told KCE that they aren’t commenting due to advice from the district’s attorney, but Elfering did say:
“Upon the advice of legal counsel, I will not be responding to questions regarding the investigative report. However, I can assure you that I am committed to upholding a high standard of conduct and ensuring a positive environment for Bristol School employees, children, and the community.“
While campaigning for school board in early 2024, Musha contacted two of the candidates. He asked them if they wanted to hold a meeting with him in his office and discuss “the rules and expectation of school board members.” This was seen by some as an attempt to intimidate the candidates or influence the election. The election that followed flipped the board that was mostly loyal to Musha.
Members of the district’s administrative team were entitled to yearly reviews under their contracts. The board found out that Musha hadn’t completed many of them in about three years. They gave him a directive to complete the reviews. He allegedly didn’t do them when ordered. He finally authored the reviews and electronically signed them. The evidence, according to the investigators, showed that Musha then back-dated the electronic signatures to make it appear he did them on time.
According to the board, Musha violated numerous school policies:
- Musha failed to finalize a contract with an employee per a board directive.
- Musha used foul language in a building with 4 through 14-year-olds
- Musha failed to comply with board directives involving a complaint against his ex-wife, Stephanie Musha.
- Musha became irate with staff at the final staff meeting of the 2023-2024 school year.
- Musha used the board president’s digital signature after she explicitly informed Musha he no longer had the authority to use it.
The investigator wrote in his report that Musha denied the allegations of calling the women a “bitch” and “cunt”, but he said that several factors provide the [witness] with credibility. The investigator elaborated by writing “further, numerous witnesses have testified to Musha’s propensity to become highly emotional and to ‘unload’ on people when he became overwhelmed. Numerous witnesses also testified to Musha’s ongoing frustrations with the board and in particular, its [president and vice president] given their animus to the 2024 spring referendum,” which failed.
A district parent told KCE that she was happy that Musha is leaving saying “How can the board or other administrative staff have confidence in a leader who behaves in this manner? I’m looking forward to a new administrator who is cognizant of the student’s and community’s best interest.”
Musha was emailed with a request for comment, asking why he chose to resign instead of having a hearing, where he could call witnesses and present evidence:
“Hearings are hard on everyone involved. I decided it was not worth the mental strain, attorney costs (for both sides) and dividing the community any further. It was clear it was time for me to move on,” said Musha.
“I have ALWAYS placed the students of the Bristol community as the first priority of the district. The support of Bristol families and staff has been overwhelming. Their positive and thankful messages have verified how much I meant to them. I want them to know that I am extremely grateful and thankful for the entire Bristol School community and proud of all we have accomplished in the last 5 years. I will miss the students, staff and families dearly and wish them nothing but the best as they move forward,” added Musha.
2 Responses
Good riddance, douche canoe.
He must not know Tina very well, calling her a b*tch only makes her work harder and hold people more accountable for their actions.
Ughhhhhhhh Bristol again!!!!!! Well geez