During the April 24 GAPS Board Meeting, Michael Harlan, the husband of Assistant Superintendent Lisa Harlan, filed a formal complaint against the Board Chair, Pete Morse, alleging that he called the Salem Fire Department’s Operations Chief to report Harlan for misconduct and belligerent behavior at a board meeting. Harlan claims in the complaint he was targeted because of his wife, who filed a complaint with the Oregon Ethics Commission in March regarding Morse and board member Roger Nyquist. The complaint against Nyquist was dismissed by the commission on June 2. However Lisa Harlan’s complaint against Morse is still under review.
Michael Harlan claimed that Morse’s alleged action was “unethical, unbecoming of a board member, and constitut[ed] harassment and slander.”
After the complaint was read aloud, members of the board discussed the appropriate actions to take. Nyquist expressed reservations about investigating the complaint further.
He also stated concerns about using the board’s budget for an investigation. “What I’m telling you is, based on the evidence I have, I don’t have the basis to go forward spending taxpayer dollars conducting an investigation,” Nyquist said.
Vice Chair Brad Wilson responded to the monetary concerns by pointing out the effects of such an accusation on one’s reputation. “What price is reputation? What’s your reputation worth?” said Wilson.
Eric Aguinaga left the meeting after expressing his negative feelings regarding the difference in the board’s actions between the current complaint and a complaint made against him in July 2021, which the Board chose not to independently investigate. Before Aguinaga left, he motioned to approve the investigation, which was seconded by board members Michael Thomson and Nyquist, with Morse abstaining from the vote. It was then motioned by Thomson to approve a third party to manage the complaint investigation, which was also seconded by Nyquist.
“As far as what was presented in the complaint, it sounds exactly like [Morse] and I have a hard time divorcing myself from that… It’s like [he has] no respect for the boundaries of other people,” Thomson stated in an interview. “There’s a feeling like he’s the boss, and he’s not the boss… [Morse] was implying that it never happened. If that’s your defense, let’s find out.”
Aguinaga, Nyquist, Wilson, and Superintendent Andy Gardner declined to comment for this story. Several members stated that the investigation should yield results within the next several weeks. At the same time, Morse denies all accusations.
“I 100% deny the accusations,” Morse said in an email. “The district is doing an investigation, and I look forward to the results of that, but I am not allowed to be involved in that process. I just want the slanderous accusation to be investigated as soon as possible. I look forward to the truth being told.”
Since 2021, there have been seven formal complaints against GAPS school board members, according to records made available to the public by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.
