Tacoma council candidate Smitherman was demoted from SOTA post in 2004

Recently disclosed public records tied to Tacoma City Council candidate Karen Smitherman reveal that she was demoted from an administrative position by Tacoma school officials in May 2004.

At the time, Smitherman was co-director of the Tacoma School of the Arts, a position she’d held for eight months. The demotion followed an investigation into complaints about Smitherman’s behavior toward three black students.

Findings from an internal investigation reached the following conclusions:

■ Smitherman “failed to exercise sound professional judgment” when she allowed the students to stay in her office when they were supposed to be in class.

■ Smitherman failed to maintain boundaries between herself and the students by trying to befriend them and sharing details of her personal life.

■ Smitherman allowed the students to use the N-word toward each other in her presence and did not correct them.

■ Smitherman “over-related” with the students in an attempt to be relevant.

The investigation, conducted by school district employee Marilyn Walton, also noted that Smitherman used the N-word in front of students – a point that Smitherman denied. She admitted using the word in the context of saying it was inappropriate.

The investigation did not substantiate other allegations tied to Smitherman’s language and statements. Many allegations in the 2004 investigation fall into the he-said, she-said category, with a student giving one version of a conversation and Smitherman giving another. The records also cite interviews with other students (including black students) and employees who said they hadn’t heard the statements, or that they didn’t believe Smitherman made them.

Smitherman has been married to a black man, longtime state lawmaker Bill Smitherman, for 37 years, and raised his two daughters as her own.

During her 35-year career with the district, she worked as a teacher at Remann Hall and multiple schools. She retired in June from Stanley Elementary School, and was named teacher of the year in 2011 by the school PTA. She also served on the governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee.

At the time of the 2004 demotion, Smitherman fought the district’s decision, records state. She admitted allowing students to stay in her office, but she denied many of the statements the three students attributed to her. On her own initiative, she took a polygraph test, repeated her denials to several allegations and passed the test, records state.

The demotion issued by then-Superintendent James Shoemake reduced Smitherman’s status to certificated teacher. The Tacoma School Board denied Smitherman’s appeal on procedural grounds (her formal letter arrived one day after a deadline). Board member Willie Stewart dissented. Stewart, reached last week, said he couldn’t recall anything about the matter.

Smitherman, interviewed last week, said she chose not to pursue the issue any further. She said the students who accused her had been skipping classes.

“They were just young people that were headed down the wrong path,” she said. “They didn’t like that I was calling them on it. The situation became untenable. I just decided that I could take my talents back into the classroom. It was really probably the best decision rather than try to fight it and go on and on about it.”

The News Tribune noticed the court record during a routine review of recent court filings. Chris Budinick, a 28-year-old Tacoma resident, filed a request for Smitherman’s school district records on Sept. 30. Smitherman sought to prevent the disclosure in Pierce County Superior Court, claiming invasion of privacy. A judge ruled Oct. 18 that the records were subject to disclosure.

Budinick’s reasons for seeking the records are unclear. He did not respond to messages from The News Tribune seeking comment. Smitherman said she does not know Budinick.

“I don’t know where this is coming from,” Smitherman said.

Anders Ibsen, Smitherman’s opponent in the upcoming election, said he recently received a copy of the records from Budinick. Ibsen said he hadn’t known Budinick beforehand.

“(Budinick) contacted me a little while ago,” Ibsen said. “He said he made this request and he wanted me to have it. His explanation was that he was interested in being informed and wanted me to know about it.”

Ibsen said he hadn’t intended to use the information for campaign purposes.

“I’m not the kind of candidate to run attack ads or characterizations,” he said. “I’m just focusing on the issues.”

Ibsen attended the School of the Arts in 2004, the year Smitherman was demoted. Ibsen said he paid little attention at the time.

“I was a high school student,” he said. “I was focused on music and going to college.”

Sean Robinson: 253-597-8486

sean.robinson@thenewstribune.com