As school District 49 redraws its director district boundaries, effectively writing board member Ivy Liu out of office come November, its legal investigation into her conduct concluded with no charges.

D-49 launched the investigation last November for possible criminal or civil action after identifying behaviors the board said misrepresented the district, such as using aliases on social media to accuse the district of critical race theory indoctrination.

Neither the school board nor the district will pursue criminal or civil action against Liu, according to a board report. The investigation identified matters “of significant concern” that could be legally pursued by individual plaintiffs rather than the board.

“In short, it now is clear that the allegations (by Liu) about certain educational matters, e.g., use of CRT/indoctrination, were unfounded, and that accusations about the Board’s decision making and policy adoptions in the fall were also without merit,” the board’s general legal counsel Brad Miller wrote in an email to all board members and district CEO Peter Hilts on Jan. 29.

In a statement to The Gazette, Liu said the investigation’s conclusions against her are based on conjecture and the district still lacks evidence of wrongdoing. The report was made public in February at the request of Liu and in agreement with other board members.

“Every single one of those slanderous allegations have fizzled due to lack of evidence,” Liu said.

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The report alleged Liu blocked people from social media accounts she used to discuss official board business, which “likely was illegal activity pursuant to current federal precedent.”

Individuals who were blocked could initiate further legal action, according to the report.

“Altogether, it is somewhat unnerving to observe an elected public official exhibiting these sorts of behaviors,” the report stated.

Ivy Liu investigation resolution

In November 2021 Liu was elected to a two-year term that is set to expire this year. Following the district’s redrawing of boundary lines, her home address falls within fellow board member Jamilynn D’Avola’s director district, making her ineligible to seek re-election for the director district she currently represents. She will be eligible to run for D’Avola’s seat once her term ends in 2025.

Voters in D-49 chose in 2015 to transition away from an at-large model, in which all board members represent the district as a whole, to a director district model, in which each board member is elected to represent one of five areas within D-49. Board members must live in the area they represent, and per statute, director districts must be nearly equal in population size based on the most recent U.S. census data.

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Growth in D-49 has dramatically changed its layout since the new model was adopted. Boundaries that once saw 3.2% variance between director district population sizes in 2015 now have more than 43% variance.

From a list of four proposed boundary adjustments, the board selected the option that would result in the least percent of population variance between director districts, with 5%. Both Liu and board Vice President Rick Van Wieren were impacted by the redistricting, but unlike Liu, Van Wieren previously stated he did not intend to seek re-election.

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The board approved the revised director district boundaries in a vote of 3-2 at a Feb. 22 special meeting. D’Avola and Liu dissented.

District CEO Peter Hilts said during the meeting that the redistricting was a matter of complying with statute, which required as near-equal director districts as possible.

But according to Liu, the move is the latest in a series of attempts to remove her from her seat, a claim that board members and district officials have repeatedly and publicly denied.

“This was outright gerrymandering, an act of dishonesty and lack of integrity,” Liu said. “This action was taken specifically to block me out.”

Tensions came to a head during the November 2022 board meeting in which the board voted 3-2 to censure Liu, demanded her resignation and announced its investigation into ??”willful and repeated behaviors that constitute failure to meet her fiduciary responsibilities to the district’s students, staff, parents, taxpayers and residents.”

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Despite initially calling for the use of an outside investigative firm at a cost of up to $10,000, the board report said using a third-party investigator would have been “costly and ineffective.” District legal counsel Brad Miller’s firm, Miller Farmer Law, instead conducted the investigation at no extra cost to the district. The report also states that the district had no power to conduct subpoenas or depositions despite initial claims it intended to do so.

The firm conducted interviews and reviewed Liu’s social media postings, recordings of District 49 board meetings and email exchanges.

The investigation allegedly found Liu discussed district and non-district matters on social media using several aliases and pseudonyms such as “Sky Dancer,” “New Dawn Rising,” “Hannah Cyrus,” “Running Against Wind,” “Lily Poon” and “Leo Junger.” Under the name “Helen Weels,” an alias she used as recently as January, she accused several board members of voting to bring critical race theory into the district, Miller’s email states.

Such statements, according to the report, falsely depict district operations and cause harm to D-49’s reputation.

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The board in 2021 voted to pass a resolution prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory within district schools. D-49 is believed to be the first district in Colorado to have approved such a ban.

In December Liu stated “we are teaching this [CRT] content.” She has not fulfilled a request to identify current D-49 curricula containing CRT content, the investigation stated.

“Brad Miller sent me the list of allegations and asked me to confirm them,” Liu wrote in her statement. “Then he plays judge and jury by spin doctoring my refusal to respond as a confirmation of his allegations and admittance of guilt.”

As elected public officials, board members receive limited governmental immunity for actions they take on behalf of the district. This protection allows them to vote on controversial resolutions without fear of lawsuit repercussions. Areas of concern outlined in the report will not be legally protected in the event of a private lawsuit.

D-49 again bans ‘critical race theory’ amid bitter infighting on school board

It is assumed Liu made the controversial statements in good faith, according to Miller.

“There is no allegation that she was consciously untruthful. Sometimes simple misunderstandings can be amplified in the public sphere,” Miller’s email reads. “It is assumed that she solely has acted in a desire to represent the best interests of the District and its constituents.”

The district will now “move forward without further debate” on the topics investigated and refocus its attention on “real substantive areas,” Miller said.

Editor’s note: District CEO Peter Hilts and board President John Graham did not respond to request for comment.