Receptionist Resigned Amid Allegations of Attendance Record Tampering, District Records Show

Copied!
Danielle Nixon – Former KUSD Employee

Kenosha, Wis. — A receptionist at Indian Trail High School and Academy resigned last month while under investigation for improperly altering student attendance records, according to newly released internal documents from the Kenosha Unified School District.

Paid Advertisement

Danielle Nixon, who worked at the school’s front desk and had access to pupil databases, left her position on March 7, 2025, just days after being questioned about potentially unauthorized modifications to student absences. The district’s records, obtained by Kenosha County Eye through a public records request, confirm Nixon’s resignation came in the midst of an ongoing internal probe.

Paid Advertisement

A key piece of evidence is a signed written statement dated January 29, 2025, submitted by the school’s head secretary. In the memo, the head secretary described observing a student leave school early without an approved excuse. When later reviewing that student’s attendance record in Infinite Campus, she discovered that Nixon had changed the absence from “TRU” (truant) to “TARE” (excused tardy). The memo states that Nixon did not take the call related to that student’s absence and had previously changed other records under similar circumstances. After the head secretary corrected the record by reentering the truancy codes, she later discovered that Nixon had gone back into the system and removed the truancies again.

Paid Advertisement

The memo documenting the incident was submitted to Principal Scott Kennow.

Paid Advertisement

In a separate document dated January 9, 2025, the head secretary outlined common attendance codes for Human Resources:

Paid Advertisement
  • TRU – Truant
  • ABSU – Unexcused Absence (without valid documentation)
  • TARU – Unexcused Tardy
  • TARE – Excused Tardy

The district’s personnel records also show Nixon had changed or deleted other attendance records using the ABSU code in cases where documentation was lacking. That code is intended for unexcused absences when a parent calls but fails to provide adequate explanation.

Paid Advertisement

In a document obtained by Kenosha County Eye, Nixon was shown to have changed or deleted more than 4,000 attendance records during the last seven months of her employment. Many of the affected students were athletes, raising questions about whether the changes had implications for sports eligibility.

Paid Advertisement

Under Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) rules, students with excessive absences or academic irregularities may be disqualified from participation in school athletics. The district has not disclosed whether any athletes benefited from the altered records.

Paid Advertisement

After taking several days of unpaid leave and exhausting her sick time, Nixon turned in her keys and badge and submitted her resignation. The district has not stated whether disciplinary action was pending or whether law enforcement has been contacted.

According to KUSD policy, improper modification of records—including time sheets, attendance logs, or student data—can result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

KUSD’s Director of Human Resources, Kevin Neir, appeared to omit significant documents in the district’s response to Kenosha County Eye. Notably, there were no findings of fact included in Nixon’s file, and although one document confirms that she was interviewed by Human Resources, no notes, transcripts, or summary documents from that interview were released. Kenosha County Eye has previously and successfully sued KUSD for similar omissions. As part of that legal settlement, Neir promised to be more diligent in future records releases. That promise does not appear to have been kept in this case.

Nixon’s husband Rodney, who is a coach for the Indian Trail boys’ basketball team, was named in the documents released to Kenosha County Eye, but his connection to the alleged misconduct, if any, remains unclear. District officials have not said whether he was interviewed or had any involvement.

Author

Copied!
LATEST NEWS

Kenosha Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Child Sexual Abuse, Exploitation

KENOSHA, Wis. — A 38-year-old Kenosha man was sentenced Friday to 40 years of initial confinement in state prison for a series of disturbing crimes involving the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Derrick Darnell Curtis appeared in Kenosha County Circuit Court on May 2, where Judge Anthony Milisauskas handed down the sentence following Curtis’s guilty pleas to four charges in case 24CF483: repeated sexual assault of a child, sexual exploitation of a child (filming), causing

Read More »

$150K Bail Set for Woman Charged in Fatal Hit-and-Run; Sister Accused of Cover-Up

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — A 34-year-old woman accused of fatally striking a scooter rider with her vehicle and fleeing the scene appeared in Kenosha County court Friday, where her cash bail was set at $150,000. Her younger sister, who prosecutors say helped cover up the crime, is also facing a felony charge and is being held on $20,000 cash bail. Briona A. Bishop is charged with Hit and Run Resulting in Death, a Class D felony

Read More »
MORE TOP STORIES

DA Files Felony Charges Against Kenosha Man in Alleged Hostage-Style Domestic Assault

KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha man previously facing only misdemeanors is now charged with multiple felonies after police re-interviewed witnesses and reviewed video evidence tied to a domestic violence incident that left a woman bloodied and terrified. Nicholas E. Smith, 45, appeared in court Thursday and was charged with ten new offenses, including felony false imprisonment, felony victim intimidation, and felony failure to comply with an officer’s attempt to take him into custody. Additional charges include

Read More »

Pleasant Prairie Woman Arrested in Fatal Hit-and-Run; Second Woman Accused of Harboring Felon

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — Two women are in custody and expected to be formally charged Friday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a pedestrian on Old Green Bay Road earlier this week. According to Pleasant Prairie police, officers and rescue personnel responded at 10:23 p.m. on Sunday, April 27, to the 8900 block of Old Green Bay Road for a report of an injured person in the roadway. The victim

Read More »

Kenosha Teen Led Police on High-Speed Chase With Child Passenger

KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha teenager is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly leading police on a high-speed pursuit through a residential neighborhood and an active school zone while transporting two passengers, including an 11-year-old child. Isaiah A. Boyle-Cruz, 19, was formally charged Wednesday in Kenosha County Circuit Court with five counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of fleeing or eluding a traffic officer. Court Commissioner William Michel II set cash bail at

Read More »

Father Accused of Negligence After Toddler Hospitalized with THC in System

SOMERS, Wis. — A Kenosha man is again in custody after failing to appear in court on a felony child neglect charge connected to a disturbing incident where his 18-month-old daughter was hospitalized and tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Zachary Alexander Chute, 21, was originally charged on May 1, 2024, with one count of child neglect resulting in bodily harm, a Class H felony. The charge followed an April 29, 2024, incident

Read More »

Opinion: Indian Trail Is a Good School, Despite the Bad Apples

Over the last five years, I’ve made it my mission to hold government agencies in Kenosha County accountable—especially the Kenosha Unified School District. The readers of this site know that. During that time, I’ve published dozens of stories exposing misconduct—some criminal, some just plain disgraceful—committed by teachers, administrators, support staff, and even elected school board members. Many of those stories involve Indian Trail High School and Academy, and some readers have started to ask: what’s wrong

Read More »

KUSD Special Education Staffer Suspended for Misusing Work Computer, Past Criminal Record Revealed

Kenosha, Wis. — A Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) employee assigned to the special education department has been disciplined for using her district-issued computer to post political content on social media during work hours. The employee, 51-year-old Teresa Smith, formerly known as Teresa Sarazin, currently works as an administrative support specialist. KCE received a tip about Smith’s conduct and confirmed the allegations through records obtained under Wisconsin’s public records law. According to a disciplinary letter dated

Read More »

Body of Missing Somers Man Found in Drainage Culvert

Somers, Wis. — A man who was reported missing earlier last week was found dead in a drainage culvert in the Village of Somers on Sunday, according to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department. Robert W. Taggart, 54, of Somers, was located in the 10300 block of County Highway S around 10:07 a.m. on April 27. Authorities say the death does not appear to be suspicious and that Taggart likely died from exposure to the elements. Taggart

Read More »

Kenosha School Board Rejects Firing of Teacher Who Showed Sexually Charged Video, Engaged in Uncomfortable Lesson

Kenosha, Wis. — In early March, the Kenosha Unified School Board voted 4–2 to reject the administration’s recommendation to terminate Indian Trail High School teacher Jonathan Arnett, instead opting for a lesser disciplinary action following allegations of inappropriate classroom conduct and use of an unapproved video. The charges against Arnett stemmed from two separate incidents reported by students on November 11, 2024. According to the official Statement of Charges filed by Superintendent Jeffrey Weiss, students described

Read More »

Indian Trail Art Teacher Resigns After Being Caught With Secret Bed in Locked Closet

KENOSHA, Wis. — The Indian Trail High School art teacher who was previously reprimanded for keeping a hidden bed inside a locked storage closet and misleading administrators has officially resigned from his position, effective at the end of the current school year. Odin D. Cabal II submitted a resignation letter dated April 17, 2025, to Indian Trail Principal Scott Kennow and Kenosha Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Weiss. In it, Cabal stated his intention not

Read More »

Chicago Man Accused in Pleasant Prairie Burglary Held on $15,000 Bail

Pleasant Prairie, Wis. — A Chicago man is facing multiple criminal charges after police say he broke into a Pleasant Prairie apartment complex clubhouse, stole a coin machine, and tried to hide evidence during his arrest. Kamar K. Hall, 29, was formally charged on April 28, 2025, in Kenosha County Circuit Court with four counts: burglary of a building or dwelling, criminal damage to property, obstructing an officer, and possession of THC. Court Commissioner William Michel

Read More »
Categories
Archives
Authors

85 Responses

    1. Instances could be each class period. Instead of 1 instance per day, there are 5 to 7 class periods for students. So number may be “inflated”.

      11
      2
      1. 4000 divided by 7 is 571.42, does this make it more acceptable? If I was the superintendant of a school and an employee did this 10 times, they would be gone. Why would anyone try to dismiss the seriousness of this? Seems like you think it’s okay.

        13
    2. I’ve known her for a very long time, She is an amazing person. With a good heart. For some youth, sports is all they have!

      1. Some of the styles now, look really obnoxious.

        I think they are more concerned that people see them.
        Their real popular in some circles.

        3
        5
      1. The way y’all look in the morning. Geez. Y’all look like y’all just roll out of bed, don’t shower, throw y’all hair back with y’all fingers, drink coffee and go to work. Y’all don’t even use wash rags to wash your asses🙄🤦🏾‍♀️ and have the nerve to talk about black people. I’m sick if you SLIMY EGG WHITES 🤣

        2
        3
      2. I why some of the students do and act the way they do by those idiotic comments I am reading. I certainly hope your are not parents that will transfer to the children.

    1. The way y’all look in the morning. Geez. Y’all look like y’all just roll out of bed, don’t shower, throw y’all hair back with y’all fingers, drink coffee and go to work. Y’all don’t even use wash rags to wash your asses🙄🤦🏾‍♀️ and have the nerve to talk about black people. I’m sick if you SLIMY EGG WHITES 🤣

      2
      1
  1. Probably just scratching the surface on the implications of sports eligibility.

    The impact can only be assessed by the scores and win and loss records of the teams but it’s up to competing schools to determine if they were played against by otherwise ineligible players.

    But the real lesson for the students is that just because the adults go to bat for you doesn’t mean that they played fair in doing so.
    Should the students be penalized ? No. But they should or should not be playing according to their “reviewed and corrected” eligibility’s.

    Winning and losing is a part of sports AND is one of the most important parts of playing school sports.
    Because it teaches a life lesson of not everyone wins. Cheating is not a lesson we should be teaching by example.

    25
    1. The student athletes who were innocent and actually qualified to play are the ones who will be hurt the most by this.

      15
    2. This also has potential of impacting college scholarships. If these students were not eligible then they would be overlooked for scholarship offers. Not an impact to D3 schools but D2 and D1 would be impacted.

      5
      1
  2. Fake news! The head secretary is a bully and a liar but she’s white so she must be right. There’s more to this story.

    11
    47
      1. I’m not her but I do know her. She’s an upstanding member of our community and has been for years. If I were being bullied, lied to and on you and purposely excluded I would probably resign as well.

        9
        27
        1. Evidence appears to say otherwise. Both in the “upstanding member” and the “being bullied” categories.

          20
          0
        2. We ALL know it is you, so stop lying and playing the race card. Enjoy working at Walmart, I heard the employees there enjoy their job. 🙂

          15
          1
          1. Walmart has to lock up baby formula and shoes in Kenosha. What next pampers?

            Kenosha is the most ghetto city in the state.

            3
            2
    1. She’s Hispanic, and her husband and kids are African American…. Sorry, no race story to be told here about the head secretary… nice try

      12
      2
    2. So typical, bringing in the race card when clearly doing something wrong and getting caught for it. I bet $100.00 the facts won’t lie. I also bet the vast majority of the adjustments were for…

      13
    3. I am white, but I absolutely agree with you. It’s not just Indian trail. Its all of kusd district. K -12 they also need to look at the student that had been in attendance and marked truant. AND/OR worse medically excused and market truant. I have so much to say and tons of paper trails just don’t know who to talk to all they do is reference you to more of their circle leaving you in circles getting no where. You sound unbelievable that’s how they make you feel. I don’t know what law suit happened or is in place how do I get a pieace of that considering my son was on life support was called in also notified by the icu Docs them selves and I get slapped with truancy. Finally my son makes a recovery comes home come to find out on his return back to school he is no longer a student. They completely dropped him from the school. Hasn’t been excepted since. I’m not sure who all is involved in this case directly but it sounds like a set up to me. Let truth be discovered and pray for all who are not part of their circle of crimes. Find the main source at the main district it’s self. Hint- one lady their told me “Williams” said she could no longer speak with me per Williams she was genuinely sorry she could not help me anyfuther and knew My kids didn’t qualify for truancy. The truancy officer also discharged us from her case as well because they didnt qualify. I was never able to fix the record and my child was not aloud in their schools. They do lie and change everything amd everthing to benifit their circle period. The district needs to get a full search and all schools here seriously. This is a bigger problem then you can imagine. People listen to your kids take their words seriously. We are all they have and it starts at home right. Fixing alot of the behavioral issues is start by cleaning up the schools give then a far honest chance not favor you and take one down really needs to come to an end. It’s been way to long with the abuse. I can only pray your time is coming to an end since so many were failed by you in you sick ways. Let get tallies whom else? I know I’m not the only one. 100% paper trails facts from my end.

      2
      3
    4. real loud and real wrong. if your kid was marked present, and while they were not in class ended up being in an accident, you would have no idea this is not a race issue, this is about children’s safety…

    5. The portal in which attendance entered gives time stamps for all entries with the employee’s name and time. Therefore it all can be tracked and pulled out of the system. There is not a way to fabricate it.

  3. They aren’t content to cheat through recruiting alone and are now doctoring attendance records, too? Is this surprising? The real investigation should analyze placement. A school with academies that are supposedly populated by “lottery” also “coincidentally” has the largest concentration of top athletes? Is the lottery driving placement or is athletic skill driving placement? Are the teams predominantly made up of students who live in the IT boundary or are the bulk of the student athletes from the academies? Why not put the academy students back in their boundary schools for athletics and rebalance the district athletic programs?

  4. She will be hired by Bradford by morning. They keep hiring incorrectly so. This would be a good fit.

    2
    2
  5. Were any of the altered records for white students ? Neir should be fired as well . While we’re at it , fire Tanya Ruder. Have a nice day !

    13
    1
  6. I’m sure her defense will involve feeling completely justified in her actions. Those kids shouldn’t be expected to show up for class. And if they don’t, penalizing them is wrong. Wait for it.

  7. Oh, that’s been going on for years in Kenosha. They used to do it for Mahone at Bradford when he was out screwing all the white chicks and not going to school.

    4
    4
  8. You know things are bad at KUSD, particularly Indian Trail, when it’s a breath of fresh air to read a story like this and think to yourself, “Well, at least it didn’t involve sex, grooming, drug dealing, etc.” In this case, cheating didn’t pay off because the Indian Trail boys basketball team was 5-20 overall (2-12 conference) last season. Ouch.

    17
    1. Well, how do we know what the students were doing when they left school without parental consent or proper notification? Drugs, criminal mischief, underage sex? Don’t be so quick to be relieved.

      3
      3
    1. Right there with you, leaving SE Wisconsin was the best thing I’ve done for my family. It might just be me, but things didn’t seem that bad until after the riots. Seems Kenosha attracted all the hood rats from Milwaukee and N. Chicago. Now you have a city full of crime and people there are so unfriendly.

      10
      4
      1. You’re not wrong. Abundance of rental properties, lower priced than half an hour south, abundance of warehouse jobs that require little skill, lower sales tax, and you can apparently drive for years on expired Illinois plates with no issue. So why not move here, right? We have basically become the Waukegan of 30 years ago. It just continues to push north.

        Just go to Indian trail any morning and count the number of cars dropping students off with Illinois plates.

  9. So typical, bringing in the race card when clearly doing something wrong and getting caught for it. I bet $100.00 the facts won’t lie. I also bet the vast majority of the adjustments were for…

    7
    2
  10. The one day in the life of Kenosha soap is good…so much racism directly and indirectly, so much better than others attitudes and all of you have something in your closet 🤣🤣 half your husbands and wives are cheating the other half are alcoholics most are problem addicted to something prescribed and call it ok but let’s down grade and talk about others so we can feel good about ourselves so pathetic 🤦🏽‍♀️🤣🤣🤣

    8
    7
  11. She’s a hero.

    Many high school students struggle, and getting truancy citations can lead to early drop out, if they get a diploma, they may not switch to a life of crime later on.

    Many of the people mad about this are parents of sub-par student athletes that show up and are probably good students, while sitting on the JV bench.

    If test scores were being fudged, that’s an entirely different story.

    0
    12
    1. What an incredibly dumb comment. So, in your world, it’s perfectly fine for “students” to skip school and still be allowed to participate in high school athletics? That’s a terrible example to set. Give the truant players’ roster spots to the JV kids who are true student athletes. And if it’s wins you’re concerned about, they can’t do much worse than the 5-20 record posted by the Hawks last season.

    2. Are you a complete idiot, or just a little bit? Falsifying attendance records for hood rats that don’t have a dad at home is really setting them up for success in life? Him let me answer my question for you, YES you are a complete idiot.

      6
      3
  12. As a parent I’m concerned that my student could be leaving school like the student in this story – and instead of letting me know he was not in class like he should be, someone cleared it so the basketball team can make sure he can play? Like what if something happened to him and I’m thinking he’s in school safe? Who is the responsible for that?
    We enter into a partnership with the schools that they’re going to do their part in keeping our kids safe. How can I do my part in teaching my kid making responsible decisions and holding them accountable when you have adults trying to help out the athletics program, or whatever her reason for manipulating student records.

    1. Kids that aren’t taught accountability turn into adults like this receptionist who thinks it’s okay to lie and cheat. And then act like she is some sort of victim to excuse what she did. She 100% did it.

  13. So many crimes by KUSD, it’s impossible to keep up.
    KCE could have a “KUSD Degeneracy Statistic Page” summarizing the weekly crimes they continually commit.
    Yet amazingly, the same board members are re-elected.
    Informative and Excellent reporting by KCE!

  14. I think a Congressional investigation is warranted. We have to find out if we need IDE. I want to know age/race/creed sortable.

  15. I read this stuff all the time and it’s crazy that your community is so upset about some attendance records. Yet we haven’t heard anything else about the teacher’s who had relationships with the students and it’s funny not nearly half as many people were this upset? So attendance records is more important than rape to the community. And no offense but we all know that if she was some fat white lady she would be praised and say she’s helping those kids out. And y’all also know that if the head secretary is supposedly Hispanic and the lady who was changing those records was Hispanic she wouldn’t have even told. Just because you marry black doesn’t mean you care for black people. Next thing you know your whole office will be Hispanic and white. So no we don’t really care about this information we would like updates on those inappropriate teacher student relationships though. Have you reported those criminals yet and gotten a statement from them on their behavior?

    1
    4
    1. Haven’t heard anything about teachers having relationships with students? Are you new to KCE? LOL. Kev makes a living off that smut.

  16. Oy, and meanwhile in a nearby district we’re getting truancy letters for keeping sick kids home (and calling them in as such), but not taking them to an unnecessary & costly doctor visit where they’ll be around more sick people, just to get a Dr. note (since not every virus requires physician intervention).

    I’m curious if any/how much funding is tied to attendance?

    1
    1
  17. Not saying this was right, but Shawnelle Gross from Bradford has done the same thing. The district and Bradford know he does this and they allow it. Why, because he is a male. The district is made up of the “Good olé’ Boy”. Shawnelle also, gives students rides, allows students to use his car during their lunch. Is allowed to call students his sons when he has no kids. That’s just disgusting and inappropriate and should not be allowed.

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST NEWS
Categories
Archives
Authors

Subscribe to updates

Get notified of new articles. We'll never share your email address.