This is a story that we exposed earlier this year about a school administrator who's accused of bullying his colleagues. Tonight we obtain the results of an investigation by the Antioch School District. We asked the district for more details, but officials refused our requests. Now, since taxpayers are paying for that review, NBC Bay Area's Candace Nguyen got the answers anyway, and she joins us now. Candace, in a letter, the school district's HR office says it determined the desk incident was a prank to, quote, lighten the mood and the supervisor, Ken Turnage, did not bully or humiliate his employee. That employee and another worker who, ironically, was in on the so-called prank, say that investigation was a sham. They didn't do an investigation. In a may 14th letter, Antioch School's chief human resources officer Robert Martinez told maintenance worker Jim Kessler he investigated Kessler's original complaint. Kessler reported to HR that in January 2023, district facilities and Maintenance Director Ken Turnage harassed, bullied, intimidated and humiliated him. When Turnage told several employees to move his desk onto a roof. The public display included a ladder with a sign that read Kessler's access can rules by bullying and by intimidating people, and he was waiting for the opportunity to get back at me to send a message to everyone else while I wasn't there. Kessler says he and Turnage had been arguing about his job duties. This was retaliation, he says. But HR disagreed. HR determined Turnage's motivation was to lighten the mood and make people laugh, and that he did not act with ill intent. And it was not a violation of either board policy or law. I disagree. Did you find it funny, Jim? Nope. Nope. Kessler and three other employees tell NBC Bay Area they are not surprised by the findings. They also filed a bullying complaints against Turnage. In our report last April, they said they believe Turnage is getting special treatment from the district because he's close personal friends with Superintendent Stephanie Anello and her husband , Antioch's former police chief. The district, they say, turned a blind eye until NBC Bay Area started asking questions. Eventually, at a public school board meeting after Superintendent Anello refused to answer our calls and emails. He is accused of putting one of his employees desks on a roof using district resources. What was your reaction to that? His letter to Kessler says the district hired an outside law firm, Dennis Kelly, to review the district's process regarding the investigation that review found the investigation was correct. If every complaint gets denied, where do you go? Where do you go? If you are an employee and you have a complaint that you're supposed to go to HR? We reached out to the law firm. They told us the issue is confidential. We contacted Anello and her husband again. Anello emailed us saying Dennis Woliver and Kelly is a well respected firm that works with school districts throughout the state. She went on to say school employees have several administrative remedies. She did not comment on any specific allegation and speaking publicly for the first time, Antioch unified welder Tom sellers, who recently retired. He admits he gave the green light to this so-called desk prank. He was the chief union steward at the time and ended up getting disciplined by the union for his involvement. I apologize to Jim. I told him I was sorry. Why did you think that would be funny? And why did you think Jim would find that funny? Why did I think it was funny? Boy, I sure don't think it was funny. Now, I think the investigation was very narrow. I don't think enough people were interviewed. It's like a double standard. He's allowed to do what he wants and say what he wants. But if we were to do that, we'd be called on the carpet, disciplined or fired. Superintendent Anello has been on medical leave since our first report. HR Director Martinez is now acting superintendent and told us in a statement. While it may appear to some complaining parties that their complaints have not been effectively addressed, those employees are not made aware of any specific consequences or discipline which may be imposed on other employees. Kessler says he's frustrated by this vagueness because he's asked for follow up information. I spoke to four different people in HR and each one says, well, we're not going to go backwards in time. Let's just focus on this and if you want to file an official complaint, why would I file another official complaint? The biggest complaint, the most glaring one, is sitting right in front of you and it's denied. At a recent public meeting, school board members agreed to discuss a wider investigation into how the district handles employee concerns. Another outside attorney from Sacramento has been hired to investigate two other complaints against Turnage. He's been placed on administrative leave during that process, which is standard with the investigative unit. I'm Candice Nguyen, NBC Bay Area News. Candice, thank you. And we will continue to stay on this story. If you have a story tip for Candice or anyone else in our investigative unit, we urge you to give us a call 888996 Tips. Or you can simply visit
