Rush Propst Internal Investigation 1, Doug Howell, Superintendent of Colquitt County Schools, recently conducted an internal investigation invalving Rush Propst and personnel issues. The completed investigation centered around four major areas of concern. They are as follows: area of concern- Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators Standard 2: Conduct with students. ‘An educator shall always maintain a professional relationship with all students, both in and outside the classroom. Unethical conduct includes but is not limited to furnishing tobaceo, alcohol, or illegal/unauthorized drugs to any student. In my opinion, based on the evidence provided during the investigation, that Rush Propst has violated this standard, The evidence includes statements that show Coach Propst on more than one occasion gave pills to students out of his pocket, in the office area, at halftime, and at his truck. He is not allowed to give over the counter medicines ‘or unauthorized medicines. The evidence showed that on one occasion he gave a pill toa student at halftime and the student was observed by medical personnel who described him as dazed and lethargie after getting the pill from Coach Propst. 204 area of concern- Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators Standard 1: Legal Compliance An edueator shall abide by federal, state, and local laws and statues. Unethical conduct includes but isnot limited to the commission or conviction ofa felony or any crime involving moral turpitude. It has been established that the offense ofa pattern of Jailure to file federal tax returns in years in which taxes were due is moral turpitude if this was in fact the case. Standard 4: Honesty An educator shall exemplify honesty and integrity in the course of professional practice. Unethical conduct includes, but is not limited to falsifying, misrepresenting, or omitting information submitted to federal, state, local school districts, and other government agencies. ‘The evidence includes: ‘The garnishment summons to the Colquitt County Board of Education from the GA State Revenue Commissioner for $143,000 owed in state taxes by Rush Propst. There are two other active garnishments against Mr, Propst. There has been a total of 8 garnishments in the last seven years, several of which involve local businesses, Credit Bureau Report (Colquitt Tax Liens) shows Rush Propst owes $301,317 in Federal income taxes. The IRS requires the Colquitt County School System deduct the‘maximum amount of federal taxes from Rush Propst allowed by federal law each payroll period. In my opinion, based on the evidence above, that Rush Propst has violated Code of Ethics #1- Legal Compliance and #4 Honesty. _3*area of concern- Insubordination, failure to follow school rules, attendance issues, ‘misuse of public funds (Standard 5), other sports concerns ‘A. Coach Propst directly and intentionally interfered with the hiring of Jamie Dixon ‘as Colquitt County High School principal in March of 2018. An interview team ‘made up of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members interviewed Mr. Dixon. Mr. Dixon related tothe superintendent that immediately following the interview Rush Propst set up a meeting of his own at Starbucks. Mr. Dixon had never met nor did he know Coach Propst before the ‘meeting. Rush Propst spent an hour with Mr. Dixon who was only a eandidate at the time for the job of principal at Colquitt County High School. Coach Propst left CCHS during the school day without permission from administration or any staff ‘member to conduct his own meeting with Mr. Dixon that he had arranged. Tmet \with Coach Propst and verbally reprimanded him for being insubordinate and. interfering in the hiring process. B. Imet with Coach Propst, in May 2018, in my office to inform him that Thursday night hotel stays for home games would no longer be allowed. I explained that the Packer football team had been told not to return to the Hampton Inn of Moultrie because of severe behavior problems. Coach Propst became very aggravated and enraged. He stood up from his chair in front of my desk, put both hands on the desk and yelled at me. He was asked to sit down, and warned about being insubordinate. He was also told that this behavior could lead to cumulative ‘events that could lead to future discipline actions. Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, James Harrell, witnessed this behavior. . Coach Propst to date has missed 21 half or whole school days in 2018-2019 in which he did not call in nor did he notify anyone that he was going to be absent. D. Standard 5: Public Funds and Property ‘An educator entrusted with public funds and property shall honor that trust with a high level of honesty, accuracy, and responsibility. Unethical conduct includes, but isnot limited to misusing public funds and submitting fraudulent request for reimbursement of expenses. ‘The record shows from emails and invoices that Rush Propst stayed at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest Galleria on Saturday night December 18, 2018, It appears from records that he checked out on Sunday, December 24. Mr. Propst ‘was not on official business ot any professional leave with the Colquitt CountySchool System on Saturday, December 18. The SEC Championship game between Georgia and Alabama was played on Saturday, December 18. Mr. Propst checked out ofthe Marriot on Sunday, December 2» without paying forthe room bil. The outstanding balance for the room was $143.66. (invoice #48298) Mrs. Garcia from the Marriott contacted Rush Propst on December 20, 2018, requesting payment for the unpaid balance for is room. On January 3, 2019, Mr. Propst replied to Mrs. Garcia. 1 quote the reply directly from the email, “Ms. Garcia.we are out on Christmas break until Tuesday of next week. As soon as we are back in school we wil gt apo cut forthe balance. Thanks!!” The Colquitt County School System does not cut purchase orders to pay for a hotel room that was not approved or authorized by the system. In my opinion, the evidence shows this was fraudulent attempt for reimbursement of expenses. The expenses being the $143.66 charge forthe personal stay atthe Marriott on Saturday, December 1, 2018, The emails between Rush Propst and Ms. Garcia from the Marvitt are included in this report. In my opinion, based on the evidence provided, that Rush Propst has violated Standard #5 of the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators EE, Interfering with other Sports- There were concerns from one other head coach that Rush Propst interfered with other sports by encouraging multisport athletes toonly play football (letter included) 4 area of concern- Football Operations/ Problems It ismy belief that Coach Props lost control of his team and some of his coaches during the 20:8 season. The following evidence is mostly provided from 2018, assistant coaches during recent interviews. 1, Coach Propst would call meetings for all coaches. Everyone would show up but, ‘on many occasions, Coach Propst was a no show, 2. ‘There was a lack of unity among some coaches, especially on the defensive side of ‘the football. There was constant bickering. Coach Propst brought in two extra coaches for the 7A Championship game that did not work for the Colquitt County ‘School System. They were allowed to work in the fieldhouse all week leading up to the Wednesday game. They were allowed a big part in game preparation and ‘were on the sideline and in the coach's box upstairs. This was a point of dissension among many ofthe coaches. 3. Lack of player discipline- Coaches commented during interviews that there was a severe problem with player discipline. There were fights at practice that one coach described as a “dangerous situation”. Some coaches attempted to discipline players and others did not. There was no consistency or leadership in this area from Coach Propst. 4. Coach Propst has shown a lack of control after losing ballgames. Coaches have reported that Coach Propst, on more than one occasion, has gone into the locker.