Latest news with #Shull
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nickerson woman charged with sexual relations with student
RENO COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — An investigation into a central Kansas school district has turned into serious charges against a Nickerson woman. Whitney Shull is charged with five crimes in Reno County, including unlawful sexual relations, aggravated sexual battery and hosting an underage drinking party. Court documents allege the victims in the case are 16 and 17-year-old students who were enrolled at USD 309 Nickerson, where Shull worked. The charges are: Unlawful sexual relations by an employee of USD 309 Nickerson with a student, on or before Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, a felony, Attempted unlawful sexual relations by an employee of USD 309 Nickerson with a student, on or before Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, a felony, Aggravated sexual battery of a person 16 or more years of age, on or between Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, a felony, and Two misdemeanor counts of unlawful hosting minors consuming alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverage. Once was allegedly on or between Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, and once was allegedly around March 15. Shull has an emergency substitute teaching license that only permits her to work in the Nickerson school district. Blue Alert: Armed suspect on the run after shooting Lee's Summit officer, police say In May, the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office told KSN News that the Reno County Sheriff's Office had asked Sedgwick County to investigate a case involving Nickerson schools. On Friday, the Sedgwick County District Attorney was approved to be a special prosecutor in the case, and he filed the charges electronically in Reno County. KSN News reached out to the Nickerson USD 309 superintendent for a comment and to see if Shull is still employed. 'You apparently have more information on this than I do,' Superintendent Curtis Nightingale responded. 'All I can confirm for you is that she was a part-time, substitute teacher until April of this year. Anything else you need to know will need to come from the law enforcement agencies handling the investigation.' Shull's teaching license expires on June 30. She has bonded out of jail. Her first appearance in court is not yet scheduled. A protective order forbids her from having any contact with the alleged victims and any witnesses. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hamilton Spectator
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
What happened in Italy? Luxury hotels, booze and fine dining: Here's how Brant trustees spent $50,000 in eight days
Aperol spritzes weren't on the agenda when four Catholic trustees visited Italy over the summer — but they did indulge in mojitos, beer, Baileys and whisky, albeit not on the taxpayer's dime. The elected representatives of Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) racked up $127,000 in travel and art costs on t he publicly funded trip — plus nearly $63,000 more in legal costs managing the aftermath — prompting a ministry review. The report released Wednesday gives insight into where things went wrong , but also how the trustees spent taxpayer dollars which they have since vowed to repay. Here's a look at what it revealed: A picture from Gardena Grödnerhof Hotel & Spa's website shows a dish from Ristorante Anna Stuben where trustees ate a four-course meal. On July 8, then-chair Rick Petrella and fellow trustees Bill Chopp, Mark Watson and Dan Dignard boarded a Lufthansa airlines flight bound for Munich, business-class tickets in hand. Their flights averaged around $3,500 per person, each way. On arrival July 9, they picked up their ride, a grey Volvo XC90, and checked into 'deluxe' and 'superior' category rooms in the Westin Grand Munich. That first night, they ate chicken wings and nachos, Chopp told reviewer Aaron Shull. Dinner was included in the $6,700 two-night hotel bill, so it's 'unclear' how the $219 receipt Petrella submitted for 'dinner at hotel and parking' fits, Shull said. An Oktoberfest hall was their destination for the night — they took an Uber and stayed for an hour and a half, but did not expense their 'rounds of beer,' the trustees told Shull. On July 10, the trustees toured downtown Munich and the churches and ate the dinner included with their stay. The next morning, they checked out, driving the 270 kilometres to Ortisei, a 'resort area,' where they would stay for three nights, at a cost of nearly $8,400. One bill submitted from that time included 27 alcoholic beverages, including Campari sodas, rum, scotch whisky, Baileys, mojitos, beer, wine and digestifs (like amaro or grappa). While the expense wasn't claimed, Shull noted it as 'relevant' since the trip was described as 'professional.' It was February 2024 when Petrella reached out to the Saint Pio Foundation to ask about getting a life-sized statue of St. Padre Pio for the new high school being built in Brantford. Over the following months, Petrella had an ongoing email exchange with Guido Goller, a 'master sculptor' at the Giuseppe Stuflesser workshop, according to LinkedIn. The workshop made a St. Padre Pio sculpture for the All Saints Roman Catholic Church in Etobicoke, according to its website. When the trustees visited on July 12, it's 'somewhat unclear' how long they spent at the sculptor's workshop. The accounts varied from 'approximately an hour and a half' to 'the full day, with a break for lunch,' Shull wrote. That night, the group dined at Ristorante Anna Stuben, a Michelin-starred spot at Relais & Châteaux-associated Hotel Gardena Grodnerhof. There, the trustees indulged in four-course menus with wine pairings. Petrella was reimbursed for the total cost of just over $1,600 for all four of them. Some trustees took a cable car ride in Ortisei 'to enjoy the views of the surrounding Dolomite mountains,' according to the report. The next day, they explored Ortisei 'as tourists.' Some took the cable car 'to enjoy the views of the surrounding Dolomite mountains' and 'strolled around afterward, browsing through the local shops and boutiques.' The trustees expensed four dinners at the Hotel Angelo Engel that night, to the tune of around $360. The next day, they drove back to Munich, and paid $1,182 to stay at the Hilton Airport hotel for the night. On July 15, they returned to Canada and took a $316 limo from the airport to the board office in Brantford. A portion from each trustee's biweekly honorarium payment is being deducted to repay their trip expenses, as they vowed to do after people expressed outrage over the travel. Of the $12,666 they each owe, as of March 6, the trustees have repaid $2,102 (Petrella), $1,072 (Dignard) and $2,262 (Chopp). Watson has repaid $1,216 of the $12,370 he agreed to, the report said. At this rate, it will be August 2028 before all have settled up — long after their current term ends with the next municipal election scheduled for October 2026, Shull noted. The trustees believed they could cover the nearly $70,000 spent on art through donations. However, Shull didn't find evidence to confirm any donations, raising questions about 'the feasibility' and 'whether public funds may eventually be required.' Education Minister Paul Calandra has given the board 30 days to repay the province for the trustee travel expenses, art and artifacts. 'To be clear, I expect immediate action in Brant, and if I am not satisfied I will take additional steps,' he said at a news conference Wednesday. Trustees travelled to Italy to get artwork for St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School. Signage shows the future site of the Brantford school in a file photo. Calandra called out other boards he has his eye on. He put Thames Valley District School Board under supervision after senior board officials took a $40,000 retreat at Toronto's SkyDome hotel amid a 'multimillion-dollar budget deficit.' The 'structural deficits over multiple years' at Thames Valley didn't show 'any clear path back to a balanced budget, differentiating its situation from Brant's,' and preventing the board from the same fate, he told reporters. However, if BHNCDSB doesn't 'fully implement' the province's recommendations 'and report back to me very quickly that they have done so,' he will take 'further actions' to ensure 'maximum accountability.' A spokesperson for the board said Wednesday it had 'just received' the report and will be 'taking time to examine' it. 'As always, the board will co-operate with the minister and the Ministry of Education. The board will review the recommendations contained within the report, and once we have thoroughly examined it, we will be able to share additional information,' the statement continued.
Global News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Global News
$145K Italy trip ‘symbolic of deeper structural problems' at Ontario school board: report
A $145,000 Italy trip by a group of Ontario school trustees is 'symbolic of deeper structural problems' within the school board. That statement was made in the findings of a third-party review into the July 2024 trip by trustees of Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB), and released Wednesday as part of a group of reports into several school boards' use of finances and resources. The week-long $45,000 trip, which sparked intense scrutiny after reports of it surfaced in October, saw trustees buy $100,000 worth of artwork for a new high school under construction in Brantford, which is near Hamilton. The costs incurred have since ballooned by $63,000 due to legal fees to manage the fallout, the government said Wednesday, bringing the total cost to $190,000. 'This review was prompted by intense public and media scrutiny around the four members of the board of Trustees' trip to Italy, an event that quickly became symbolic of deeper structural problems within the BHNCDSB,' the report, authored by lawyer Aaron Shull, reads. Story continues below advertisement 'While the Italy trip itself drew widespread criticism for questionable expenditures and insufficient oversight, the central finding of this review is that the board's governance framework and practices are the core cause of the challenges facing the school board. 'In other words, the Italy trip was the symptom, structural governance practices were the cause.' A 'tale of two boards' Shull's review found what it called a 'tale of two boards.' It read that the day-to-day operations of BHNCDSB were run 'efficiently and positively' by an education director many interviewees praised. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy On the other side, the governance role of the board of trustees had 'notable dysfunction.' 'Rather than providing broad strategic oversight, certain trustees (though not all) ventured deeply into operational territory, often bypassing established processes and failing to bring relevant decisions before all members of the board,' the report found. Story continues below advertisement 'The contrast between these two approaches, one guided by a respected director, and the other marked by trustee overreach, illuminates the core governance issues at hand.' 0:29 Ontario school trustees 'deeply regret' $145K Italy trip, vow to repay expenses Shull's report made 18 recommendations, all of which the government said the school board must submit an implementation report on by May 23. It is also being directed to repay the amounts owing for trustee travel expenses within 30 days and recoup the total funds spent on the art and artifacts purchased in Italy within 30 days. Furthermore, BHNCDSB must attest to conducting its business only in meetings that are compliant with regulations and legislation, and submit a learning plan for trustees' professional development highlighting governance responsibilities. The chair of the school board claimed in October that several donors were 'very interested' in footing the $100,000 bill for artwork it commissioned. Rick Petrella, who the Brantford Expositor recently reported is now on a leave of absence, apologized after reporting on the trip's expenses came to light, and said the group of trustees were committed to 'making things right.' Story continues below advertisement Newly appointed Education Minister Paul Calandra threatened further action against BHNCDSB if it did not meet its deadline when speaking to reporters Wednesday. 'If that board doesn't do what we are asking them to do, if they don't follow through on the additional recommendations, then I will use the tools that are available to me to take further action,' he said. — with files from Isaac Callan
