Wenatchee School Dist. Superintendent Fined By PDC

Wenatchee School District (WSD) Superintendent Kory Kalahar has been fined $600 by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC).

The citation was issued following the District's response to a mailer called the "Wenatchee Record", that criticized its academic performance and alleged the District engaged in a politicized agenda.

The PDC complaint was filed last June by a member of the Chelan-Douglas Health District Board of Directors, Bill Sullivan, who alleged that Kalahar utilized public resources to influence an election for vacancies on the WSD Board of Directors.

The Wenatchee Record was sponsored by Glenn Dobbs and first distributed to approximately 6,000 residents in the District in 2023, when it included accusations that Kalahar had used his influence as superintendent to keep candidates Randy Smith and Tricia Cleek off the school board. Both Smith and Cleek lost their bid to incumbents Maria Iniguez and Marty Barron.

Get our free mobile app

Dobbs, a Republican and former member of the Washington House of Representatives, was also investigated by the PDC in 2023 for several potential violations, including the omission of required sponsor information on two separate advertisements supporting Cleek and Smith. The PDC later determined none of the allegations against Dobbs merited of further investigation.

As to its findings against Kalahar, the PDC says it discovered evidence that in November, 2023 he directed WSD Communications Manager Diana Haglund to send emails and share posts on a variety of apps and social media platforms aimed at District staff and parents stating that the Wenatchee Record included "false narratives", made statements that were "misleading", and was intended for the purposes of "political gain".

The PDC went on to find that on Nov. 5, 2023, Haglund used her District email account to communicate with the Wenatchee World in asking for “limited media exposure on any issues that could be considered controversial and further any false narratives”. Additionally, they found Haglund requested the newspaper publish an op-ed article written by Kalahar in response to the claims made in the Wenatchee Record, which was printed by a subsidiary company of the Wenatchee World, World Printing.

In addition to the fine levied against Kalahar, the PDC also issued Haglund a written warning for her role in the violations.

A second edition of the Wenatchee Record was mailed to homes in the District last month, this time advocating for residents to vote against the passage of the WSD's EP&O levy on Feb. 11. The levy passed with 60.72% of the vote.