Columbus board member releases recording to distance herself from school closings memo
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus Board of Education Vice President Dr. Tina Pierce said Monday she is setting the record straight on communication between her and a fellow board member over a controversial leaked memo.
She addressed an audio recording made by Brandon Simmons and released her own, made a few days later. Simmons was the board member at the center of the memo, which was related to future school closings. It suggested dividing the teachers' union from staff and moving meeting locations last minute.
Simmons said the document was a collaboration, but other board members have denied this, calling Simmons the sole author.
Watch: NBC4 Investigates on leaked schools closing memo
Nearly two weeks ago, NBC4 Investigates obtained partial recordings Simmons made between him and board member Jennifer Adair and between him and Pierce. Both were recorded after the document was leaked.
Simmons presented the document, but according to an investigation and the board as a whole, it was never under consideration.
In that partial recording between Simmons and Pierce, she was giving him advice. Now, she said the full recording would at the time show she was relying on his word. And on Monday, she released her own recording, in addition to an open letter to the community.
Listen: Conversation between Pierce and Simmons
The conversation Pierce recorded with Simmons took place May 22, the day after the board and Simmons separately addressed the document.
"Who helped you draft this document when you told me many, many people, many meetings. Who helped you draft it?" Pierce said.
"We should not have this conversation now," Simmons responded.
Multiple times during the 19 minutes, Pierce asked Simmons who helped him write the document.
"Brandon, this is me and you. Do you have a 'many'?" she said.
"I always have something in my back pocket," Simmons said.
"Brandon, it sounds to me like you don't have a 'many.' So if you don't have a 'many,' can we please minimize this fire?" Pierce said.
An investigation by the district outlined who was in the meeting when Simmons presented the document to Board President Christina Vera, Adair and top administrators.
Pierce was not in that meeting and in her statement said: “I was relying on what he said others' involvement was, which I later learned was inaccurate. My response was premature as I took him at face value and I later learned he had presented false facts.”
In the recorded call. Pierce pleaded with Simmons to not speak out.
"I'm not talking to anybody. I'm not calling anybody. Please do not talk or call any press. Talk to legal. Don't. OK. Brandon, please talk to legal. I am trusting you so much," Pierce said.
Simmons did speak out after this, releasing multiple statements.
In this call, you can hear Pierce’s frustration:
"Brandon, so you don't have a 'many.' Let's just clarify. You don't have a 'many,' is that correct?" Pierce said.
"I'm not answering that question," Simmons responded.
The recording should have been included in the public records request NBC4 Investigates made to the district. Pierce said she gave it to the district’s external legal council but said "inexplicably, the external legal counsel did not acknowledge or include details of the recording in their report."
Pierce is still calling for Simmons to resign immediately from the board.
Simmons and the district did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read: Letter from Dr. Tina Pierce
To the Community:
As your elected Columbus School Board member, I am writing to clear up some irresponsible claims and inaccurate assumptions that have been reported by the media,
While I do not wish to continue to feed Brandon Simmons’ distracting drama or engage in anything but the role of a Board member, I do feel compelled to correct misinformation from the media that seems unwilling to report fairly and accurately on the public information they themselves have. This will be my only public comment on this issue and all of my answers have been vetted by my legal counsel who reviewed all of these answers for accuracy.
- Did you participate in the drafting of the leaked document of Brandon Simmons?
A: No. The District’s investigation indicated that two meetings were held where the document was discussed. The investigation report detailed that those present included: Brandon Simmons, top level School Administrators and two other Board members. I was not present and although the document was sent via email, I had not read it at the time of my initial conversation with Mr. Simmons.
- Did you coach Brandon Simmons to include “the many others” he referred to in his response?
A: No. I had not read the alleged document prior to the partial audio that was released nor had I read the alleged document and the audio Mr. Simmons' released, which was redacted selectively. A full recording would show, at the time, I was relying on what he said others involvement was, which I later learned was inaccurate. My response was premature as I took him at face value and I later learned he had presented false facts.
- Did you advise Mr. Simmons to attack the Columbus Education Association (CEA)?
A: No. The audio Mr. Simmons' released was redacted selectively. I was relying on what he said others' involvement was, which I later learned was inaccurate. The media that has reported on this has failed to include a key point – the document that was leaked was soundly rejected. This was stated at the meetings held before it was leaked.
- How do we know you are telling the truth?
A: There is proof. I recorded a conversation on May 22, 2024, after I found out that Mr. Simmons' conversation was not completely truthful about who authored the document. The District’s external legal counsel was made aware of the recording when it was shared with them on May 24, 2024, in which Simmons refused to admit who authored the document with him. Inexplicably the external legal counsel did not acknowledge or include details of the recording in their report. My Attorney has reshared it with the Board’s external legal counsel. I am also publicly releasing the May 22 recording.
- Numerous articles and editorials have been written since Mr. Simmons released his tape. How do you respond to them?
A: The media has not reported that the recording Mr. Simmons released is selectively presented and not in full. The media has not pointed out, in their timeline, that I was not involved in the meetings or authoring of the leaked document. The media has not reported that at the time of Mr. Simmons partially released recording I was relying on what I later found out to be false information presented by Mr. Simmons and later confronted him about it. It is not fair and accurate reporting.
- Why have you not spoken publicly to the media about this?
A: I do not wish to contribute to the drama Mr. Simmons has created. Every story creates more drama that is not related to education in Columbus. But now, I have been unfairly and inaccurately attacked by the media, even as facts don’t support their biased narrative. I have had the media insinuate I was involved in meetings or authoring of the document which all factual evidence clearly outlines I was not involved. And I have submitted a tape to the external legal counsel that clearly shows me confronting Mr. Simmons about his falsehoods, once I was aware of them.
- Why did you tape Brandon Simmons in that subsequent May 22 call?
A: At this point in time, I had been informed Mr. Simmons was taping Board Members. I wanted this to end by having him be clear about the drafting of the document or, if as I suspected by then, that he authored the document alone. Therefore, I thought it best to record this conversation. That was the only conversation I recorded with Mr. Simmons or any Board Members.
- Why do you think this document which was not going forward got sent to labor?
A: I do not know. What I do know now is that the document was not under serious consideration at that time. So it was a draft, submitted by Mr. Simmons, that was not even being seriously considered at the time it was sent. I do not know, but it appears that the union was not made aware it was an irrelevant document at this point. I can say that I was not part of the meetings, nor did I have a role in authoring the document.
- How do you explain the allegations that you helped Mr. Simmons craft his response?
A: Again the recording Mr. Simmons released was not a full recording. Since I was not involved in authoring the document, I was relying on Mr. Simmons' recitation of the facts – which I deeply regret. Mr. Simmons presented that many others were involved in the document. As the subsequent tape will show, I later found out those facts were likely not true and aggressively confronted Mr. Simmons about it.
- What’s your vision moving forward as a board member and what would you like the community to know? I plan to continue my advocacy for issues that directly impact our students’ success. As my record reflects, I will also continue to focus on advancing an equitable curriculum; promoting innovative solutions to address transportation and extracurricular opportunities; and providing safe learning environments for all students. As your Board Member, you can and should continue to reach out to me with your concerns and I pledge to you a compassionate ear and a swift response.
Finally,I believe Mr. Simmons should resign from the Columbus Board of Education. I also believe that you as a community elected me and my responsibility is to respond to you directly. I do believe the reporting on this matter has been irresponsible and the reporters and editorial board have created a narrative that ignored many facts in this case. I do not wish on anyone such irresponsible reporting and unethical treatment based on a partial recording from Mr. Simmons, a discredited source.