Public Records Account of How a Testimony about MVP was Obtained and Later Retracted

Preface

This is an account of how I came to secure a testimony from a teacher in Utah that was unfavorable about MVP. And then, how that testimony was retracted. This article will rely on evidence I gathered either through firsthand correspondence or documentation received under Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) involving Alpine District in Utah.

Background

Around March 25, 2019, I decided I would like to investigate the performance of the school where MVP founder and creator Travis Lemon was teaching.  Some web searching led me to believe that he was a teacher at American Fork HIgh School. I went to American Fork High School’s website and didn’t see Travis Lemon listed as a teacher.  So on April 4, 2019, I sent an email to all math teachers there.

The remaining part of this document will show the email evidence and public records related to what happened after I sent the email on April 4.

This is a the timeline of events as best as I am able to construct it:

1. 4/4/19 6:35pm (Mountain Time): Blain Dillard sent email to American Fork High School teachers seeking to understand if Travis Lemon was a teacher at the school:

2. 4/4/19 6:51pm (MT): 16 minutes later… Response from high school teacher sent to Blain Dillard confirming Travis Lemon is not a teacher there.

3. 4/4/19 7:57pm (MT): Blain Dillard sent this email to American Fork Junior High School (AFJHS) math teachers:

4. 4/4/19 9:02pm (MT): Travis Lemon warns “Everyone” (assuming AFJHS math department).

5. 4/4/19 9:08pm (MT): Travis Lemon informs (then) AFJHS Principal Jeff Schoonover that Blain Dillard reached out to American Fork Junior High Teachers (Email)

6. 4/4/19 9:15pm (MT): Travis Lemon referred to an email informing some AFJHS teachers to not respond to Blain Dillard without speaking with him first.  NOTE: The referenced email is shown above in #4.

7. 4/5/19 12:58am (MT): An AFHS teacher, who will henceforth be called Teacher D to preserve anonymity, responds to Blain Dillard:

8. 4/5/19 11:44am (MT): Blain Dillard informed Travis Lemon about the Rate-my-teacher data citing him as a teacher at American Fork High School.  Note: In a public records request returned from Alpine District during this period, there was no response sent to this email, nor since then. However, the next day, the comments on ratemyteachers.com were removed.  As of 10/3/19, ratemyteachers.com still incorrectly lists Travis Lemon as a teacher at American Fork High School.

9. 4/5/19 2:13pm (MT): Jeff Schoonover, the (then) American Fork Junior High Principal, replied to the 4/4/19 9:08pm (#5, above) email that “people are crazy.”

10. 4/5/19 2:20pm (MT): AFJHS 9th grade team leader Karen Feld wrote Blain Dillard in response to his email to the junior high school math teachers:

11. 4/5/19 4:37pm (MT): Travis Lemon emailed AFJHS principal informing him about additional district contacts, and "These people are a bit crazy."

12. 4/7/19 8:07 (MT): Blain Dillard shared information in an email with Teacher D and asked for more information and offered to talk.  

13. 4/8/19 6:02am (MT): WCPSS Denise Tillery apologized to Karen Feld for Blain Dillard reaching out to AFJHS teachers.

14. 4/8/19 8:02am (MT): Karen Feld informed Travis Lemon of the response from Denise Tillery.
 

15. 4/8/19 3:30pm - 4/8/19 4:16pm (MT): Teacher D offered to talk, and then s/he and Blain Dillard negotiated a time.

16. 4/8/19 evening: Phone call between Blain Dillard and Teacher D.  Testimony was documented and included anonymously as Teacher D in the material objection complaint document which was filed by parents to WCPSS beginning 4/12/19.

17. 4/29/19 11:04am (MT): Email with Subject “Concern” from (then) American Fork Junior High Principal Jeff Schoonover to Melody Apezteguia (Assistant Principal at American Fork High School) and Dan Weishar (Principal at AFHS) and 2 attachments: Attachment 1, Attachment 2.  This email’s attachments are excerpts from the material objection complaint showing the comments from Teacher D.


On 7/16/19, Kimberly Bird confirmed that it was Travis Lemon who came to Schoonover with the concern about the Teacher D testimony.

18. 4/30/19 1:58pm (MT): Travis Lemon emailed Melody Apezteguia, cc: Jeff Schoonover and Dan Weishar (AFHS principal) and shared this background and the emails from 4/4/19 and 4/5/19. 


19. 4/30/19 2:05pm (MT): Melody Apezteguia sent a link to wakemvp.com to Teacher D.  From that link, a person could get to the material objection documents, which contained the Teacher D testimony.

20. 4/30/19 3:36pm (MT): Melody Apezteguia sends links to website and material objection document to Kimberly Bird and David Stephenson, who are in communications / public relations department for Alpine District.


21. 4/30/19 4:16pm (MT): Teacher D sent to Melody Apezteguia the email thread between her/him and Blain Dillard.


22. 5/3/19 8:45am (MT):  Melody Apezteguia sent Teacher D contact information for WCPSS’s Denise Tillery.

23. 5/3/19 9:46am (MT): Teacher D sent Melody Apezteguia a draft of the email s/he would eventually send to Blain Dillard.

 

24. 5/6/19 2:10pm (MT): Teacher D sent email to Blain Dillard retracting her/his statement.

25. 5/6/19 10:39pm (MT): Melody Apezteguia responds back to Teacher D with confirmation about email (though s/he had already sent it).

26. 5/8/19 3:01pm (MT)  Melody Apezteguia followed up with Teacher D and made sure s/he emailed Denise Tillery.  Notes that “You should be good to go at that point. Thank you for your timely actions on clearing things up!!”

27. 5/8/19 9:40pm (MT). Travis Lemon contacted Teacher D to give her/him Denise Tillery’s name.  BCC to Melody Apezteguia.

28. 5/9/19 7:31 am (MT): Teacher D sends Denise Tillery email, sharing the retraction s/he sent to Blain Dillard. 

29. 5/9/19 11:05 am (MT).  Denise Tillery thanks Teacher D for the communication.