Superintendent Traci Davis did not show up to work Thursday despite school officials shutting down the central administrative offices Thursday and Friday.

'We have a duty to provide a safe work environment and prevent disruption if we can,' said Katy Simon Holland, President of the Washoe County School Board.

Simon Holland, spent 35 minutes talking with Landon Miller Thursday in an extensive interview. The topics included the shutdown of the central administrative offices, the investigation into  Davis' alleged misconduct, the perception of acting Superintendent Kristen McNeil, and the lessons the school district has learned following its most recent shakeups.

"There were leaks of very confidential information," said Holland. "Names of complainants. That sort of thing."

As we reported Monday, the school district released 200 pages of texts and emails they say prove Davis leaked confidential information in a lawsuit against the district. Holland and Neal Rombardo, Chief Counsel for W.C.S.D., notified Davis of the investigation writing that Davis, 'deliberately, wantonly, willfully, recklessly, and/or with gross negligence provided or allowed access to confidential information,' to three redacted names. 

"We also have evidence that she is changing the outcome of the investigation," said Simon Holland. "These are all very serious accusations."

The school board found out about the accusations in late May, according to Simon Holland. Simon Holland is facing some criticism of her June 13th notice, but not talking about it to the media about the accusations on June 18, 2019, the same day Davis took an 'indefinite leave of absence' for 'personal reasons.' 

"I'm happy to have the opportunity to clarify that," said Simon Holland. "I had a duty to respect the confidentiality of those conversations."

She told us that the district informed her of the 'indefinite leave.' 

"It is true that I did not know what her personal reasons were," she said. "There could have been others. All I had was an email saying she's taking a leave for personal reasons."

Originally, Thursday's interview was planned to be at the central administration offices. However, Wednesday night, Acting Superintendent Kristen McNeill shut the offices down because Davis was planning to return to work. 

"We knew that there was an opportunity for disruption so it is better for us to be out of that building to do this kind of interview," said Simon Holland.

In a phone interview with the Reno Gazette Journal Wednesday night, Davis said she was surprised by the response.

"I was flabbergasted," Davis told reporter Siobhan McAndrew. "This is a clear indication of racial issues in the school district. This story is similar to the Central Park Five, and I am now the Washoe County School District One." 

We asked Simon Holland about her statements.

"I think it's absurd," she said. "We have a duty to provide a safe work environment and prevent disruption if we can."

The central offices are open for some student services, job seekers, and parent resources, according to Simon Holland. 

In our interview, we also talked about Dr. Kristen McNeill, the acting superintendent. Many support Dr. McNeill, however, several others have come forward concerned that she is not starting off on the right foot in her acting superintendent position. 

On Friday, June 21 2019, Dr. McNeill wrote a memo to all 8,000 district employees addressing the situation with Davis. 

District employees, "Under no circumstances (are) to discuss or disclose such confidential information with anyone that does not have a need to know," she wrote. 

"In addition," she wrote, " as part of your professional responsibilty to the district, you must not participate in or tollerate gossip or spreading rumors or fail to carry out the directives above." 

Some employees felt her tone was too strong and reported it to the teacher's union. 

"I did have a conversation with (Dr.) Kristen (McNeill) about that," said Simon Holland. "I thought it was great that we had our WEA  (Washoe Education Association) folks come to her and ask, 'Is this what you really meant?' Because this is how it felt.' Many other employees thought it was fine."

Monday, June 24th, Dr. McNeill sent an apology to the same 8,000 person group. 

"I have heard from several of you all who felt the tone in my memo on Friday afternoon was harsh," wrote Dr. McNeill. "I want to assure you that was not my intent." 

Dr. McNeill 'owns' it, she writes, and will 'take more care to strike the right tone' going forward. 

"She did, very quickly accept that feedback and she corrected it," said Simon Holland. "I was one who said, 'people need to talk about these things. We are grieving in this organization right now.'" 

Simon Holland also talked about Dr. McNeill's qualifications. 

"She has 26 years in the school district and she was here long before Ms. Davis was here," said Simon Holland. "She's been a principal. She's been an area superintendent. She's had a variety of roles."

Simon Holland also spoke about the state of the Washoe County School District.

""It's terrible," she said. "It's terrible. I am dissapointed for the almost 8,000 dedicated employees of our district and the 64,000 students."

Simon Holland said she knows the working enviornment at the district is not appropriate. 

"The environment that employees have shared with me, contacts that have been personal and confidential, they have felt that it is a very toxic environment," she said. "They have felt bullied and intimidated."

Simon Holland knows the school board faces criticism in the mess from the administration side, but argues she took action as soon as she found out about Davis' allegations.

"We didn't have proof, we can't deal in speculation, we did not have proof provided to us until May 29th" she said. "We are now acting quite expidiously to correct that situation."

Simon Holland also defended herself for not raising Davis' performance score in 2017, even though the board as an entity did.

"I have had concerns," said Simon Holland. "I was the one in her first evaluation of her, that I participated in...I voted to not increase her rating."

The Washoe County School Board's special meeting to discuss Traci Davis is Monday, July 1 at  425 East Ninth Street Reno, NV 89512. The meeting is open to the public.Â