In an email sent to parents on February 26, Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees President Cindy McCauley confirmed the allegations that Superintendent Laurie Kimbrel’s husband, Tim Olrick, was behind the defamatory Facebook posts targeting Tam parent Mitch Wortzman. When the posts were first brought to the Board’s attention in December, McCauley says that “an independent third-party professional was retained to conduct a workplace investigation of the allegations. After a thorough examination, no evidence was found that outgoing District Superintendent, Dr. Laurie Kimbrel, had any involvement with, or knowledge of, the social media postings. Timothy Olrick, Dr. Kimbrel’s husband, has publicly admitted that he was solely responsible for the postings.”

Mitch Wortzman, the Tam parent who raised the allegations that have now been confirmed, still hasn’t been contacted by anyone from the district. “The public should know that the Board’s thorough investigation never included contacting me or reviewing my evidence,” he said. “The only communication that I’ve received on this matter was a threatening letter from the school district’s attorney on behalf of Superintendent Kimbrel on December 22, denying any knowledge of the internet postings, and accusing me of spreading false allegations and having a reckless disregard for the truth. I have also yet to receive an apology from the Kimbrel household.”

In McCauley’s statement, she said that this incident goes against the civil discourse expectations of our district. “The Board of Trustees strongly believes that ongoing conversations about District matters must be expressed within appropriate bounds of civility, and that there is no room in these conversations for personal attacks,” she wrote. “ We acknowledge the seriousness of issues presented here, and their impact on the affected parties.  We are determined to learn from this incident and to move forward with a renewed focus on providing the best possible education for all our students.”