001United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. Amen. >> Okay. I will look for approval of today's agenda. So move. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor in favor signify by saying I. >> I oppose the same sign. Motion carries 6. Okay. So we have a full open session tonight. It's a on um priv says private educational data of a student. So I need a motion on that also. to approve that we will uh be in open session for the student data. >> So move. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I >> I >> oppose the
002same sign. Okay. 6. Okay. All right. Few things for it to read. Okay. Today is October 14th, 2025. I have 5:20 p.m. And I'm Dave Clott, the chair of the School Board of Independent School District 241 Albertly Area Schools. I will be serving as a chair for purposes of this expulsion hearing. I hereby call this hearing to order to consider the expulsion proposed expulsion of Gemma Beckman from Albertly Area Schools. This hearing is being conducted persuant to the pupil fair dismissal act which is found at Minnesota statute section 121A.40 to 121A 56. The record shall reflect the student and her uh father and grandp and grandfather are here are present at the uh hearing. The record should also reflect that the hearing is taking place before the school board of the Albertly Area Schools as
003authorized by the pupil fair dismissal act. After the conclusion of the hearing, the board will deliberate and make a decision as to the proposed expulsion. The hearing is being held at the district's Brookside Education Center, 211 West Richway Drive, Elbertly, Minnesota, 567. The student is currently enrolled in the district schools. Okay. The student is again appearing today with the support of her uh father Christopher Wessles and grandfather Roger Wessles. The school's administration is represented by Will Syler and Jordan Klein Schmidt. It's legal council from Squires Waldsberger and Mace PA. To ensure today's proceedings move forward without unnecessary delays, I want to make everyone aware of a couple ground rules. Number one, this hearing is an opportunity for the district's administration and the student to present facts and information and for the board to accept witness
004testimony and evidence. Only individuals who are involved in the proceedings or called as witnesses may participate in the hearing. There will be no opportunity for public comment relating to the matters discussed during this hearing. There will be no demonstrations, for examples, cheering, booing, clapping, etc. during or at the conclusion of any portion of this hearing. Any person who violates these rules will be given an oral warning to refrain from disturbing or disrupting the hearing. If the person continues to violate these rules after receiving the warning, the chair may order him or her to leave the hearing or the hearing will be conducted in the following manner. Each party will be given an opportunity to make a brief opening statement. Then, in support of the proposed expulsion, the district's administration will present its evidence, including testimony
005of witnesses, the students records, and any other documents or records related to the proposed expulsion. The student and her representative will have the opportunity to cross-examine each of the administration's witnesses. After the administration has concluded the presentation of its case and chief, the student will be given an opportunity to present evidence in opposition to the proposed expulsion. The student may choose to testify, but is not required to do so. The administration will have an opportunity to cross-examine all witnesses called by the student, including the student, if she chooses to testify. At the conclusion of the te of all testimony, the administration and the student will each have an opportunity to make a brief closing argument to the board. The closing statement should not exceed five minutes in length. The district is recording the hearing using
006a digital audio recorder. All testimony will be given under oath. I will administer the oaths in recognition of the fact that there is an audio recorder. Only one person should speak at a time and each speaker should identify himself or herself when he or she begins to speak. The parties should not interrupt each other unless they are making a legal objection. All all legal objections should be limited to the legal ground for the objection unless the chair gives the party permission to explain the objection. At this time, I would entertain a motion from someone on the board. As chair for this hearing, I will rule on all points of order and questions of evidence and procedure raised during the hearing. >> So, >> is there a second? >> Second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those
007in favor signify by saying I. >> I oppose the same. Okay. This case will be considered by the school board in its role as a factf finding body based upon evidence introduced and raised by the parties at this hearing. It is the responsibility of the parties to present all pertinent information. It is inappropriate for questions other than procedural questions to be directed to me or any other board member. In general, it should be unnecessarily for the board or any member to ask questions of the parties. After the conclusion of the hearing, the board will evaluate the facts presented and make a determination as to the proposed expulsion. If any party or board member needs to take a short break during this hearing, the party or the board member may request a short recess. No board
008member should discuss any of the testimony or evidence presented at this hearing with any other person during any recess. If any person approaches a board member or attempts to discuss testimony or evidence during any breaks that are taken during this hearing, the member shall decline to do so and immediately advise me, the administration, and the student. Okay, we will now proceed with the expulsion hearing. The parties may begin by making a brief opening statement. The administration will go first and after the student has had an opportunity to make an opening statement, the administration will call its first witness. So, administration opening statement. Thank you, chair. As the chair introduced, my name is Will Syler and I'm the attorney representing the district's administration with regards to today's expulsion hearing. Thank you all to the board member
009for your time this evening and for your deliberations in this hearing. Over the course of the hearing, you will hear witness testimony and you will be looking at documents that are going to hopefully be entered into the record as exhibits. Through that testimony and those exhibits, you will come to understand that today's case meets the three statutory grounds that warrant expulsion. The first ground of which evidence will be presented is that the student engaged in a willful violation of reasonable schoolboard policy. Specifically, school district policy 506. That policy specifically prohibits students from engaging in certain behavior. most pertinent here behavior which relates to a student knowingly making a false claim about a violent situation or a hazardous situation which is what occurred in this case here when the student sent two Snapchat messages related to
010an alleged school shooting plot which was a fabrication was non-existent and resulted in a sub substantial disruptions to the school's operations. You also hear that this um board policy was clear and definite and provided the student with notice of those conduct requirements under district policy. You'll also hear testimony and evidence today about the students conduct being willful conduct that significantly disrupted the rights of other students to an education. Evidence presented will demonstrate that because of the students conduct, a large large number of district students chose to remain home from school on the day of the false report of a potential school shooting, which resulted in those students not receiving the district's educational services on those days. You also hear testimony that several members of the community reached out to the district both on the day
011of the false message the day after and in the following weeks regarding the school shooting and that it continues to be a issue that the community feels strongly about. Specifically, you'll also hear testimony that because of the students messages, those who were implicated in the alleged school shooting um plot were very distraught over their alleged involvement in this fabricated plot and that specifically some students who were implicated were afraid to go back to class because of it. You'll also hear that in response to the students conduct, several district educators and administration were taken away from their reasonable job duties and forced to respond to this conduct, taking time away that they could have otherwise been spending to their regular job duties, such as providing education for students and overseeing other behavioral issues. Finally, you'll hear
012testimony and evidence today that the student engaged in willful conduct that endangered both herself and other pupils. We've all heard of school shootings on the news. We know that they are a violent, deadly plague in the United States right now and that threats of a potential school shooting are not to be taken lightly and that people do react strongly to those. Even though this was a false and fabricated plot, the student choosing to send out a false message like that not only put herself in danger from reprisal, but other people that were implicated in that plot and in danger of reprisals because of that. Also, just because of the nature of school shootings, those individuals are potentially perceiving a threat and it resulted in several students staying home because of that threat. This will all
013be evidence that you'll hear over the course of the administration's case today. Thank you for your time this evening. >> Okay. Opening statement by the student or the representative. Um, is now is now the time to put something uh on the record for the exhibit like pull up the exhibit on on that? Can we do that? The text messaging question? >> Uh, no. I so what I would recommend at this point in time is if you want to say an opening statement perhaps similar to something that I said then it'll be the administration's turn to present evidence and I'll be presenting what's in the book in front of you there at the conclusion of when the I'm done and conclude the administration's case. You're more than invited to put into the record any exhibits which
014you would like to at that point in time. >> Okay. My father's got something to say. I don't know if it is a opening statement, but he was he needs to say something. So, >> yeah, I just got some things I want to bring up. I'm sure everybody read the newspaper that day, right? >> Everybody did read that newspaper. December 24th looked very serious to me. uh questions I want to ask and probably I don't know if to ask you or who but um it says however one of the investigators on Monday morning which would have been September 22nd acknowledged there was a previous knowledge that he allowed him to identify who the individual was that law enforcement should act on this that was on that Monday morning of the 22nd. Um so they went
015down to the uh school bus and took this individual off the school bus. And I'm sure many of the students seen what was going on. Probably some took pictures, I don't know. But as soon as they went back to school, you know, as soon as they got in the door, this is story was going to run rampart through the whole school. This is where Jim heard a lot of these things at. And um it wouldn't take long to go throughout the whole school. Um the question I want to answer is if they knew bus on the bus. So I imagine I would take school all morning. My granddaughter, by the way, did not have her phone in school that day at all. So I would thought then they would have cancelled that threat and um
016notified like I say all the parents, the staff, there's no threat anymore. And the thing I want to know is um there's a lot of students I understand that went home on Monday, but if the threat was there no more, why do they go home on Monday? A lot of parents come and got them. They must have heard about it somewhere. And if the threat was already dissolved on Monday, why did so many students and staff not come to school on Tuesday? There was no threat anymore. You've determined that on Monday already. That's all I got to say. Okay, let's uh move on then. schools administration will now call their first witness. >> The district administration will call Mr. Saw to the stand. If I could go out and get in from the hallway, please.
017>> Yep, sure. >> Thank you. Make sure you go there. Please um state your you state your name and the spelling of your name please. Uh, my name is Sat. Spell that too, please. >> S A first name, middle name B A, last name T A W. Okay. >> Okay. And um I will administer the O. So, all right. Please stand and uh raise your right hand. Under penalty of perjury, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> Yes. >> May be seated. I apologize here, Mr. Todd. It will be me addressing you here. You've already stated your name for the record. Could you please state for us what your position with the district is? >> I'm the dean of student at ALHS High School. >> How
018long have you been in that position for? >> Three years. >> What are some of your job responsibilities in that position? My duties to check student attendance, student behaviors and communicate with parents and also working with admins, teachers, students and school SRO. >> Would it be fair to say that you generally deal with student behavioral issues in your job? Yeah, mostly student behaviors problems and student attendance in >> Are you familiar today with the student who's the subject of today's hearing, Jimma Beckman? >> Yes. >> How so? >> I received a report for one of the student at high school there, the ninth grader. She came to my office reporting that Jeremiah posted something on social media about her family. >> What day did that happen? >> She came down on September 23rd >> In
019the morning before school start. >> Could you just in the most detail you're able to pro provide explain to us what happened when the student came into your office? She came to my office. She was crying. She told me that a student spread rumors in on social media, Snapchat. And she showed me the snap post and she was afraid to go to class. She asked me to stay at my office the whole day to work there. So I sent out an email to all her teachers, let the teachers know that she's going to be down in the office working there. She's not in trouble. She just need a break time and I keep her at my office there the whole day. >> Mr. T, I'm going to have you open up that book that's in
020front of you there to the document that's marked as exhibit number one down in the right hand corner. >> Are you there? >> Yes, I'm here. >> Do you generally recognize what's portrayed on this document? >> Yes. >> Could you just briefly explain to me what your understanding of this is? Uh that there that is a post that that student the ninth grader show me. She is one of the uh relatives. She's related to moola. So she came down and her dad also reached out to me about the post and told me that you know there is a social media post about you know my family my my daughters. So she was crying the whole times while talking to me and she asked permissions to stay there because she was a you know she was
021afraid that someone's going to think that you know she's going to do something stupid >> and so and Mr. Todd I'm going to ask you some questions about that but specifically regarding did am I correct that you testified that this is the message that that student showed you on September 23rd? >> Yeah that is correct. That is a post that student show me also the the day before on uh se September 22nd her dad sent me the same message did they suppose that his dad sent me in the messenger >> Mr. Looking at this document here, does this appear to be a true and correct copy of the message that was provided to you sent by the student? >> Yes, that is exactly the same post. >> Any reason to believe that it's been altered
022or modified in any way between the time that you received it and now? >> No. >> I would move to admit the document that's marked as exhibit one into evidence. >> Mr. Chair, I made a motion to admit the document that marked as exhibit one in that binder into evidence. If you have a order that you'd like to either admit or decline to admit it into evidence, you can make that decision. >> Okay. >> Admitted or not admitted is >> admitted. Yes. >> Okay. Great. Thank you. And there will be three more documents that I intend to introduce and I'll do that in a similar fashion just for future reference. So, Mr. Tom, am I correct that you said that this message was originally sent to you on September 22nd? >> Correct. >> And who
023was it that sent you this message? >> Oh, that student, the ninth grader parents. >> And did you know that student's parents beforehand? >> Yes, we know each other. >> Um, I see here that this me message references a student, as you would said, named Moola. Is that person a district student, former district student? >> Yes, she is an eighth grader at high school. >> And um is that student who or the the parent that sent you this message, were they related to moola? >> Yes. >> Um specifically in relation to the parent that contacted you, what familiar relation to moola, if you know? Mulad dad and the ninth grader student that I'm talking about mom their siblings. >> So would it say that the parent that contacted you was Mula's uncle? >> Correct. >>
024And the student that came into your office the next day was Mula's cousin. >> Correct. Just generally speaking, when the did the parent send you an email on September 22nd? >> Uh messenger. >> A messenger message. >> Yes. >> Okay. And just briefly, if you could explain what that parent expressed to you in that message. >> She was frustrated. She was uh a little bit angry because it was something she was he was expected because it was he's not planning anything and someone just spread rumors on social media. So he was not happy at all. >> Did you report receiving this message to anyone in the district's administration? >> No. >> Okay. On September 23rd, you had testified about a student coming into your office. What did you do after the student was in your
025office? So after that uh when I got a report the ninth grader she told me that Germa was the one who posted and then I went to Jerma first hour class escort her down to the back office >> and what happened when the student got into that back office >> and then there was a law enforcement interviewing JMA. >> And were you present for that interview? >> I was there for a portion of times. >> Generally speaking, what did law enforcement talk with Gemma about? >> Uh, he asked Germa about the post. >> Did Gemma say anything about doing the post herself? First he asked about the snap account and then he follow up with another questions like if she is the owner and then admitted she was the owner and she also admitted that
026she posted Snapchat. >> Were you doing anything at the time of the interview yourself? I was there uh check in security camera, check in hallways, check in school exit, who's coming in, who's going, who is leaving the building and checking uh the the whole cameras. >> Why were you doing that? Because we have a lot of student leaving that day and a lot of parents came into school pick up their kids and also the social media post that someone's going to come and shoot up the school parents concerns student was afraid and there was you know people leaving and coming so just tracking if there is going to be you know a shooter based on your and so to continue did you have any more involvement with the student that day after the police interview?
027>> No. >> Did you have any discussions with any district administrators after that interview? >> No. >> Okay. Based on your observances around the district that day, did you observe any disruptions to students educational days? >> Yes. Could you just describe a little bit about what you were seeing? >> Uh we have a lot of student and they up going homes and a lot of parents uh keep calling. Student email set an email parents send an email and asking to pick up their kids. >> When parents pick up their students from school, are they able to attend class during the day? They can, but they choose not to return it. >> Um, regarding yourself that day, did the responding to the student's conduct take you away from any of your job responsibilities? >> Absolutely. Yes.
028>> Would you have spent spending time doing other things but for sitting in that police interview? >> Yes. >> Did you observe any other disturbances to stab's days because of those messages? Can you please repeat your question again? >> Yeah. Did you witness any other disturbances to district staff's days because of those messages that were sent? >> Yes. >> Generally speaking, did staff seem nervous at all? >> A few stamps nervous? Yes. >> Did you believe generally that there was a potential of a school shooting at any point in time? I don't know. >> Okay, those are all my questions for you. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Would um do you guys like to cross-examine some questions? >> I'd like to ask um how many people would you say called the
029school if they should come pick up their kids the day that girl was arrested? Uh because I work as a dean of students. We have her attendants uh Jasmine. She work at the front office and uh we have parents calling me, parents calling attendants, parent calling other teachers. So for me personally, a lot of current families. >> Yep. a lot of because uh most of the current family who don't speak English they call me and I just explaining what happened and then they some of their email me >> this was on the day that the girl was brought off the bus first day >> that is October 23rd >> the day she was arrested off the bus >> uh the on the bus October 22nd So the day that she got the girl got taken
030off the bus, there was people calling the school wondering if they should come pick up. >> I don't receive any call on October 22nd, but October 23rd, I received a lot of calls. >> Some call, some uh send an email. >> Some people leave on >> that. I don't remember him. >> He lost a lot of the school went home on the day that she was taken off the bus. >> The 22nd, I don't remember exactly, but the 23rd more than half of the students leave the school building. >> But you would say students went home. the 20 seconds. I can't really recall how many >> I can't hear very Did you say somebody come into your office on the 22nd in the morning? >> 23rd. >> Yes. On the 22nd when this was all
031squatchched, wasn't all the parents notified and staff notified that this was no more longer a threat? the 22nd I don't really remember what happened but the 22nd after school over in the evenings and then the next day the 23rd there was a lot of calls I received no longer the police department school says no need for went out all the staff. >> Can you repeat your question again? >> On the 22nd girl school bus, there was no longer a threat. officers around the school bus. I'm sure they contacted the offices in school and told there is no longer a threat. You can take the school off of lockdown. I'm sure that authorities in school notified all the schools, parents and the staff that there is no longer a threat. I believe uh the district sent
032out the emails to all the parents regarding uh about the threat. >> The 20 seconds >> and the teachers knew that right off the bat no longer a threat. >> We have a lot of teachers. So I don't know if all of them are aware but I'm pretty sure the district set email to all the parents to all the teachers teachers should all right there's no more There's no more threat on Monday. But the threats is uh about the posted that the following dates that the relatives will comes that is what makes the parents and student afraid to come to the school. >> Yeah. A lot of them come to school on Tuesday. A lot of teachers, the staff didn't come to school on Tuesday. But get back to Monday when the threat had dissipated.
033Staff knew that, parents knew that. There's no reason for her to stay home Tuesday. >> They have the right to stay homes. They have the rights to come to school. We can't force them to come to school. there's no longer a theft regarding about German post the following days their relatives cousins uncle will comes that is there that makes the family concerns >> I have no further questions >> no redirect okay >> you're excuse Mr. Yep. Thank you. >> No, you can leave that right up there. Thank you. >> I'll walk you up here for the chair here. The administration is going to call Mr. Sean Gustan uh to the stand. I'll go up and grab him from the hallway here. We're going to have it right up in the middle there in front of
034that black book. Thank you. Ple please uh state your name and spell it for us. >> Sean Gaston. Sean S A N Gaston. G A S T O N. >> Please stand. Please stand and uh raise your right hand. Under penalty of perjury, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> I do. You may be seated. >> Mr. Gasson, thank you for your time this evening. Could you please state for the board what your position with the district is? >> My position is the principal at Albertly High School. >> How long have you been in that position for? >> This is my first year as principal, fifth year on the administrative team. >> What's the highest level of education that you've obtained for that position? Uh >>
035I have a master's degree and an administrative license. >> What are some of your job responsibilities in that position? Uh I'm responsible for the management of the 160 plus staff. I am also in charge of instruction and curriculum inside the building and I serve as sort of the lead administrator when it comes to student discipline matters. >> Are you generally familiar with the student who's the subject of today's expulsion hearing? >> I met the student during the investigation of the incident. >> Let's talk a little bit about the investigation of the incident. When were you first notified about any conduct that the student was involved in? >> Uh sometime between 4 and 5:00 pm on September 22nd. >> Who were you informed by? >> Uh Tyler Wilson, investigator from the Freeborn County Sheriff's Department. >>
036What did Mr. Freeborn or what did the Freeborn Sheriff's Department tell you? Uh they shared that they had started looking into a series of social media posts that were hinting at a uh possible threat to our building. >> Did that they identified any students at that point in time? >> Uh at that time they were still looking through but that the initial uh message seemed to be connected to uh the student in question tonight. Okay. Just generally for me, can you walk me through what happened on the afternoon and into evening of the 22nd? >> Yes. So about in between 4 and 5 heard from uh investigator Wilson at that point he came out to the high school and met with myself and Dr. Hy and sort of laid out what they had seen at
037that point. Um it was a series of a Snapchat screenshot that u made mention of a continuation of a threat that we had uh contained and dealt with earlier in the day. Um Mr. Wilson shared with us that they were at the time still determining if it was a credible threat and looking into that. Um he basically at that point started his uh his investigation like I said between that four and five range. Um from then until about 900 p.m. we received periodical updates and by we I mean Dr. Hy and myself uh were at the high school along with um our assistant principal and basically uh investigator Wilson passed us along throughout the evening that uh they had recognized that the messages had originated with Jimma and had been shared out with a friend
038and then through that had spread throughout the community. Um I shared with Detective Wilson at that time that throughout the evening I had received between 30 and 40 emails myself from students. Um, also had a series of students uh call parents text. I actually had a series of parents who drove kids in to show me uh the screenshot that had sort of sparked the whole thing. >> I'm going to have you open up that book in front of you and turn to the document that's marked as exhibit number one in the corner. Are you there? >> Yes. >> Is this uh generally a copy of the messages that you referenced earlier? >> It is. Um, I want to talk with you just a little bit about this document in specific here and your understanding of
039it. So, it looks like there's on the left hand side sort of two blue lines. Do you see that? >> Yes. >> And then there's a series of text after that. Generally speaking, do you recognize what that text is? >> I do. This was the uh screenshot that was shared to me by investigator Wilson and by various students, family members, staff, community members. >> Do you know who authored specifically that text next to the blue lines? >> My understanding is that was Jim Beckman. >> There's also sort of a black banner here in the middle that says, "Guys, please don't go to school tomorrow and spread the word." Do you know if that was written by the student? >> It was not. Um we actually saw many iterations of that message uh depending upon who
040shared it with us >> and so were those just shared by other students, >> students, parents, staff, community members. Yeah. Um that middle bear in their message seemed to change multiple times. >> Do you know if this message was posted on social media at all? >> It did did appear that yes, it spread through social media. Do you know just from looking at this document whether the student posted this on social media or was this a message specifically to another student? >> I am not an expert snap by any means. >> Do you know if the student told anyone to spread this message? >> Uh my understanding from talking to the investigators was the student did give permission to another student. Uh and by that I mean Jimma gave permission to a student to share
041a message. Yes. And just to walk through here, it sounds like the student is referencing another student. Um, is the student referenced here, the one that you referred to as a situation that was handled earlier that morning? >> Yes. >> Looking over the second sort of speech blob here, is a student referencing a shooting that was going to take place the next day? >> Yes. And so is your understanding if this message is sent on September 22nd that that shooting would take place on September 23rd? >> Yes. >> And looking here, does it seem like the student says that the shooting's going to happen without the student who had previously been handled? >> Yes. >> So this was going to go on no matter whether the student had been picked up by police or not.
042>> Correct. It also references some of the perpetrators being the uncles and cousins of um the student who was apprehended earlier in the day. Are you familiar with any of those cousins or uncles? >> I am familiar with the cousins um as students in our building. >> Did those cousins ever express to you any concern about being implicated in these messages? >> Yes. Um, on the night of the 22nd, one actually emailed myself and our school resource officer, Adam Khan, asking for an opportunity to meet to um, quote unquote clear her name. Um, I also had the opportunity to meet with one of those cousins uh, the next day uh, it because she was unable to go to class because of fear of retribution for the message. So, you testified that you were with police
043until approximately 900 p.m. on September 22nd. Correct. >> Yeah. In contact with them? Yes. >> Um, over the course of that evening, did police tell you one way or another the credibility of the threat that was in those messages? >> Yeah, by by that 9:00 hour, um, they had completed enough of their investigation to relay to Dr. Hy and myself that they did not deem the threat credible. >> Did they tell you anything about where they believe the origin of the story in those messages was from? >> Yes, they shared that they believed that the origin of the message came from Jimma. >> Did they say anything about where that information Gemma may have gotten that information? >> Uh yes. So they shared that throughout the evening uh they had initially and you know interviewed
044Jimma. She had raised the idea that it came from a couple other students. Uh we helped in identifying those students for them. The interviews with those students pointed back to Jimma being the creator of the message and the creator of the story. >> Did they say anything about the student being told to post that message or send that message? Uh nothing about Jimma being told to post that. No. >> Did it seem from their your understanding of their investigation like the student willfully posted that message? >> That was what they determined was the most likely. Yes. >> Did you and law enforcement discuss any plans for the next day on September 22nd? >> Yes, we discussed that they would uh basically serve two purposes on the 23rd. they would be present at the school as
045a sign of safety for our students and our community, but that they would also like that opportunity to uh visit with Miss Beckman again. >> So that morning were police present at or the morning of September 23rd, were police present at the district's high school? >> Yes. >> Tell me about attendance that day for students. uh attendance that day. Um we had 815 of our 1,26 students out that day. >> Would it be fair to characterize that as over or approximately half of the students? >> Yes. >> As being out that day? >> Yes. >> Is that across the whole district or any building in specific? >> Across the whole district, uh we had around 53% of the students out. Um, just in our building was more around that, like I said, almost that twothirds
046mark >> and that was at the high school building, >> correct? >> Do you know whether police spoke with Gemma that morning of the 23rd? >> Uh, they did. >> Were you present for that meeting? >> I was not. >> Were you ever told anything about that meeting? >> Yes. Uh, Mr. Sata, our dean of students and our school resource officer, Adam Khan, filled me in on what was discussed in the meeting. >> They tell you anything about the student admitting to posting the messages? >> They did. >> And is it your understanding that the student posted the messages? >> It is my understanding. Yes. >> You talked about students being out of school that day. Why do you believe the students were out of school? >> Without a doubt. I think the belief was
047that despite the investigation, the threat in this message was actually real. >> And that's despite the student reference in the message already being apprehended. >> Correct. And that was feedback from both parents and students we received throughout the day. >> And that was because the messages reference the attack taking place the next day without the student. >> Yes. The the general concern was the reference to the uncles and cousins. Did you ever meet with the student that day? >> I did following the interview with law enforcement and Mr. Sata. >> I'm going to have you flip to what's marked as exhibit number two in that book. Please let me know when you're there. >> I'm there. >> Do you recognize this document? >> That is a suspension report written by myself. >> So, you recognize
048this document? >> Yes. Does it appear to be a true and accurate copy of the suspension notice that you authored that day? >> Yes. >> Any reason to believe that it's been altered or modified in any way since you authored it? >> No. >> I would move to admit the document marked as exhibit number two into evidence. >> Thank you. Let's talk a little bit about this document. So I see here in about the middle it says incident date September 22nd. Is this in relation to the student's conduct on that date? >> That is the time that I was notified by uh investigator Wilson. >> Okay. Um you said here that the message that the student sent implied that law enforcement had not fully addressed the situation and that an attack could occur the following
049day. Was that in relation to the student's message? >> Yes. >> And that was in reference to the student's message that the attack would happen the next day despite the student being apprehended? >> Yes. You say in here that the student encouraged friends to share her message. How did you come to that belief? >> Uh it was shared with us from the investigators and from Mr. Sat's interview. His relay to me was that um a another student had asked Jimma if she could share the message and Jimma told her yes. >> You said that it was widely circulated and screen captured spreading quickly across multiple social media platforms. Did you see that spread yourself? Uh I did through the 100 plus individuals who contacted me with the message >> and that was on both the
05022nd and 23rd. >> Correct. >> You say here that this created significant unrest among students, staff and parents. What does that mean? >> Um you know besides the impact well go directly to the impact the 815 students out um you know we fielded dozens of phone calls about safety. uh you know we had to intervene with students who were having emotional breakdowns in class because of safety uh and uh you know an overall pretty much a disruption based upon fear that the threat from the day before was not done. >> In your opinion when people expressed fear about a school shooting was that real fear? >> Yes. >> People actually believe that there was potentially going to be a shooting on the 23rd? >> Very much. Yes. You say in that next paragraph that law
051enforcement investigated and determined that Jima's message was a fabricated threat and that she was the originator of the rumor. Is that based on your talks with law enforcement? >> That was on my Yes, based on my conversations with investigator Wilson. >> And then you say that Gemma confirmed that she was the creator of the post during a second interview. Is that the interview you referenced that took place on the morning of September 23rd? >> Yes. >> Finally, you say in here that the resulting fear and disruption had a direct impact on school attendance. Is that when you were referencing almost over half of the district's total population being absent on the 23rd? >> Yes. >> And then you said here that law enforcement and the school district are continuing to review the incident for the
052disciplinary actions pending. What was the future disciplinary action that you were considering at that time? >> Uh we were looking at expulsion. >> Did you and Dr. Hy discussed expulsion that day? >> We did. >> Did you have any meetings um with the students guardians that day? Uh I had a conversation with uh the father on the phone uh but he was out of town and then um also connected with grandfather along with student. >> Did you discuss this suspension notice at all? >> We did in the sense of I I raised the initial 10-day penalty and the possibility that the consequences could include up to expulsion. >> Okay. Let's talk generally about the amount of time that you committed to these responding to these incidents. Did this take you away from any of your
053job duties on September 22nd and 23rd? >> Yes. >> Um approx. Did you spend between the hours of 400 p.m. and 900 p.m. on September 22nd responding to this? >> Correct. That was uh Dr. Holl and I were at the high school working on that during that whole time. >> Is that time that you otherwise would have spent on job duties or your free personal time? >> Yes. >> Would you say that that took you away from generally other things that you would be doing? >> Yes. >> Um did you observe any other staff on September 22nd or 23rd being taken away from their job duties? uh assistant principal Amy Steele was with us uh from about 6 pm to 900 pm as as part of the team working through it. Um I'd also say
054on the 23rd um while our social workers worked with multiple students connected directly to this incident. Um many of them which would not be on their case load on a regular basis as well as administrative staff trying to support students that were uh having a a rough time working through the day. Did you believe that in response to the student's message any students educational programming was disrupted? >> Yes. >> Why do you say that? >> Uh, you know, I think we could start with the 815 who weren't there. Um, obviously, yes, you have options to access education online, but you're not in a classroom working with a teacher. Um besides that like like I mentioned um we did have multiple incidents with students who did come to school who were unable to stay in class.
055Um you know I personally for example walked a kid around who just needed to be able to talk about the incident. Um many of many of the classrooms were at least half empty to 80% empty and so a lot of instruction did not take place that day. I'm going to have you flip open in that book to what's marked as exhibit number three. >> Okay. >> Exhibit number three. Could you let me know when you're there? >> I'm there. >> Okay. Do you generally recognize this document? >> Yes, that is a secondary suspension report written by myself. >> Okay. And when was this given out? >> Uh this one was written on um October 6th, I believe. um in response to the end of the 10-day suspension. >> And does this document and the other
056pages generally identify that the student is an eighth grade student? >> Yes. >> Do you happen to know whether the student is a special education student? >> I do not believe they are. >> Okay. Now, I'll have you flip to exhibit number three in that book, which is after that green page there. >> Okay. >> Do you generally recognize this document? >> This is a policy document from a area schools. Um, are you generally familiar with this district policy number 506 as it's marked at the top there? >> Yes. >> I'll give you a little bit of time to flip through the document to familiarize yourself with it, but once you've had an opportunity to, does this look like a accurate and correct copy of district policy number 506? >> Yes. >> Any reason to
057believe that it's been altered or modified in any way from the way the district currently maintains it? >> No. I'd move to admit the document marked as exhibit number three into evidence. >> That's admitted. >> Thank you. I'm going to have you look at the top here of page number one. Does this state the purpose of the policy? >> Yes. >> And is the purpose of that policy to make students aware of and comply with the school district's expectations for student conduct? >> Yes. Now I'm going to have you turn to page number five of that exhibit under paragraph or section five there does that identify student responsibilities? >> Yes. >> And is the A prong of that for students um to know and obey all school rules, regulations and policies and procedures? >> Yes.
058>> Having you flip to the next page, page six here. Is this a student code of conduct for the district? >> Yes. >> And does that generally require students to comply with that suit of conduct? >> Yes. >> Does it identify generally behavior that's prohibited by the code of conduct? >> Yes. >> Now, I'm going to have you flip to page number 10 in that book, please. 10 in exhibit three. >> Okay. Are these some of those behaviors which are prohibited by the policy? >> Yes. >> I'm going to have you look at number 39 specifically. Does this prohibit students from violations against persons including threatened assault? >> Yes. >> Now looking at paragraph number 40. Does this prohibit students from engaging in behavior such as verbal assaults or verbally abusive behavior including the use
059of words which are threatening or intimidating? >> Yes. And finally, looking at paragraph number 41 there. Does this policy prohibit students from engaging in physical or verbal threats, including but not limited to the staging or reporting of a dangerous or hazardous situation that do not exist? >> Yes. >> In your opinion, did the students conduct by sending those messages on September 22nd constitute a physical or verbal threat uh of a report of a dangerous or hazardous situation that does not exist? >> Yes. Did the students conduct constitute verbal assault or verbally beus excuse me verbally abusive behavior? >> Yes. >> And finally, did it constitute a violation against persons, including threatened assault? >> Yes. >> Specifically speaking, do you think that the policy engaged in paragraphs 39 and 40 by implicating other district students as
060potential perpetrators of a school shooting? >> Yes. Would you consider that to be threatened assault based on those students fear of reprisal? >> Yes. >> And do you think that it was threatening and intimidating words that were used at those students? >> I do. >> I'm going to have you flip now to the next page. So, page number 12 here, please. >> Okay. >> Are these some of the disciplinary actions for violations of the student code of conduct? >> They are. Does it generally say that the district is to utilize progressive discipline to the extent reasonable and appropriate based on specific facts and circumstances of student misconduct? >> Yes. >> Are you generally familiar with Minnesota statutees requirement that districts engage in what's called non-exclusionary discipline unless the conduct of the student creates an immediate
061and substantial danger to themselves? >> I am aware. Based on the student's conduct on September 22nd, do you believe the student created an immediate substantial danger to herself and others? >> Yes. >> Therefore, did you think, excuse me, non-exclusionary discipline was warranted? >> I did not believe non-exclusionary discipline was warranted. >> Did you believe moving straight to expulsion was warranted? >> I do. Yes. >> Looking through here, it lists some of these disciplinary options. On page 13, paragraph S, does it list expulsion under the People Fair Dismissal Act as a potential form of discipline for violations of the policy? >> Yes. >> And looking at the previous page, does it also include suspensions as a potential consequence? >> Yes. >> Finally, here I'm going to have you flip to page number 16 in that book,
062please. Under paragraph B, does it outline for students the grounds upon which students may be dismissed from school? >> Yes. >> And are those three that are listed under paragraph there generally the reasons that student may be um dismissed from school? >> Yes. Based upon your review of this district policy and the student's conduct on September 22nd, do you believe that the student engaged in a willful violation of district policy 506 code of conduct? >> Yes. >> Based on the student's conduct on September 22nd, do you believe that the students um contact significantly disrupted the right of other student education? >> I do. >> Do you believe that it significantly disrupted the ability of school personnel to perform their duties? >> I do. Finally, do you believe that the student's conduct was willful contact that
063endangered the student or other students? >> Yes. >> In the most general terms as you're able, could you just describe for me why you believe the student's conduct was willful conduct? I believe that the student knew that the message created was not accurate and I believe that they released that message knowing it would create a response. They may not have understood the severity, the impact of that response, but I do believe it created they knew that it would create a response and that that severely disrupted the rights of others to an education or the ability of our school personnel. >> And finally, do you believe that the students conduct actually endangered other students? >> Yes. >> Do you believe that the students perceived there to be a danger from a school shooting? >> I believe
064yes. Do you believe that the students that were implicated in the fabricated school shooting plot were also in fear of danger? >> 100%. >> Do you believe that any school district employees were afraid of the potential for a school shooting? >> Yes. >> After you suspended the student on September 23rd, did you have any talks with any other district administrators about pursuing expulsion of the student? >> I had that discussion with Dr. Hy. Did you between the two of you come to the decision to pursue the expulsion of student? >> We did. >> I'm going to have you flip to what's marked as exhibit number four or excuse me, exhibit number four in that book, please. >> Do you generally recognize this document? >> That is a notice of expulsion, proposed expulsion. >> Was this
065a document that the district provided to the student? >> Yes. And was this a document that the district provided to both Christopher Wessles, Beverly Wessles, and Roger Wessles? >> Yes. >> I'm going to give you a second to look through the document here. Do you believe that this is an accurate and correct copy of the notice of proposed expulsion that was delivered to the student and the student's family? >> I do. >> Any reason to believe that it's been altered or modified in any way between the time it was delivered to the family and now? >> No. I'd move to admit the document marked exhibit number four in evidence, please. Says up at the top here that the date of this letter is October 8th, 2025 and that it was done via hand delivery was
066delivered, excuse me, was the letter delivered to the parents on those days. >> Yes. >> And also that included the student's grandparents. >> Correct. >> Up in that top paragraph, does it generally notify that the district was taking action to expel the student from the school of the district for 12 months? It does. >> Did it identify the independent statutory grounds for the proposed exclusion? >> It does. >> Did that include as a willful violation of reasonable schoolboard policy the policy that we previously talked about, school district policy 506? >> Yes. >> And when it says it was willful conduct that significantly disrupted the others and willful conduct that endangered the people or other people, are those both reasons that the district chose to pursue expulsion in this case? >> It is. Does this letter
067down towards the bottom there start to begin the factual basis for the proposed expulsion? >> It does. >> On the next page there, does that identify policy 506 as the policy that was violated? >> Yes. >> Did it inform the student and the family that the student was not entitled to receive non-exclusionary interventions prior to the expulsion? >> It does. >> Did it identify the time, place, and uh date for the hearing today? >> Yes. Did it provide the student generally with options regarding the hearing? >> It does. >> Did it inform the student of the ability to examine the students records, um, compel witnesses, and have legal counsel at the hearing? >> Yes. >> Did it generally tell the student that they had a right to wave the hearing today? >> It does. >>
068Did it inform the student of the potential witnesses that would be called by the district's administration? >> It does. Did it provide a description of the potential testimony that those witnesses would provide? >> Yes. >> Um, did it tell the family that they had the right to call witnesses of their choosing? >> It does. >> Um, and finally, did it inform the student of the alternative learning which would be provided to the student in the during the period of exp or excuse me, during the period of suspension and expulsion? >> Yes. Do you know what educational services were available to the student during the period of suspension? >> Gemma had access to the Google classroom that she would have had um while in the in the classroom um and she was reminded to actually complete
069all of her work during her suspension for she would receive full credit. >> Is that usually what the district does when it suspends a student? >> Yes. >> Finally, at the very end of the document here, it references enclosures. Were all those enclosures given to the family at the time that this notice was delivered? >> Yes. >> Generally speaking, having gone through your testimony today, do you still continue to recommend the student for expulsion? >> I do. >> Why that? Why so? >> I believe the impact on our building and the district at large was significant um and is still being felt. I you know I know that you know the implicated students continue to have some some fear of being in the building. I also know that we continue as a staff to even
070into this week receiving phone calls uh regarding whether if there is a current female in the office it's one of the cousins. So, we're still working through um those messages from the community that uh you know there's still some unsettled feelings about that message and what it was portraying could happen. >> You had spoken earlier about specifically one of the students who was apprehended actual cousins. Do you know how long it took for that student to return to class? >> Uh to get through all eight periods took three school days. >> Those are all the questions that I have for you. Thank you. Would you like to cross examine? I just got a couple questions here. Monday the 22nd and they took a girl off the school bus 738. The girl in question, >> uh,
071the student from the first threat, >> the girl in question, she took her off the school bus on Monday between 7:30 and 8. >> Yes. And that did the police officers then contact you as a school and say we have exper. >> We were aware of that. Yes. >> Did you take the um did you take the school off? >> We did uh after that student was no longer in our building >> in the morning. >> Correct. >> And do you notify parents and staff who in the messaging system that there is no longer a threat. >> Parents received multiple communications via email and text and I made an announcement to the entire building at 10:00 that the threat had been contained. >> And how many students went home on the Monday? Uh, I would
072say somewhere between it was a couple hundred. That's what I'm going to go with. I couldn't give you the top number. I'm sorry. >> Okay. You know how many was going on Tuesday, but you're saying a couple hundred on Monday? >> Yep. >> So, um, Monday then. Yes. >> Yes. >> Gemma did this texting at 3:48 after school. So, why were they all home already that day when they didn't know about this. >> Are are you asking me why they went home at 3? >> Why were they all missing so many of them that day when she texted this other girl at 3:48? >> Many of those students who left day one are from the original threat. Yes, >> they heard it somewhere. >> Uh many of those students left after the announcement I made.
073A lot of them were gone that day before 3:48 during during the school day. So they had some inkling that something was going on and then like I say 348 GMA text that girl and then uh you said that gave her permission to um what what do you say? She gave her permission to what? to share the message out. >> Now that did that girl doesn't she know that she shouldn't do that? >> I would say that you know it's a little bit like >> did you have a tell her to do that? >> That I guess I would my question there Roger be are we it'd be like us asking every person who shared it out tell her to go and do that. >> She shared to she could share it out. Um there's
074nowhere in the messages um where it's asked to be a private conversation or anything. >> Yeah, the conversation with Jim and this girl was private at first. >> Nobody got a hold of that message. That other girl >> that I can't tell you. >> I believe that's how that works. Yes. But then Gemma gave that girl permission for that girl. She should have known then that no I should be doing this. Right. >> I would hope that our students would think that way. Um, but I would also say that, you know, this is again something that Jimma did ask her to share out and agreed to have her share out. >> She didn't ask her. She said she could if she wanted to. >> She didn't tell her. I will I will uh I will
075stick with what I said. >> How do you get a hold of the How do you find out how many people are in school >> that day >> on the 22nd or 23rd? Um, >> how many people >> generally we run we can run a report and pull it up. It'll show who was how many absences for each hour. >> So it's it's not just done in the morning. It's not done. >> No, we take attendance eight times a day. >> You said >> how many people are in the school >> on that day? There are 1,27 enrolled students. net schoolers that >> Yes. >> in the high school. >> Yes. >> And you said 200 of them left in Monday. >> I would say between I'd say two to 300. Yes. >> 300. >>
076That would be my my best guess. Um >> so that's like almost a quarter of the >> correct. Yeah. >> On Monday. >> Correct. >> Because of things that they heard. >> I think it was in reaction to the event itself. Um, >> would you say that they were talking about it? People knew what happened. >> Oh, I I mean, >> you say somebody none of them knew what happened or do you think some of them knew what happened and were talking about? >> Oh, I think many of the students knew what happened as we shared out that communication. Um, >> say that again. >> I mean, we by 9 in the morning, we already had communication out. Um, so I think many of our students knew what had taken place between 7:30 and 8
077very early in the day. Yes. >> There's people that were on the bus when they got the girl got taken off too. So >> correct. >> And they ended up at the school. >> Correct. >> They were talking >> like about what happened, right? >> Spread like wfire. Correct. >> Um, yeah. I mean I I think again >> I'm something like that magnitude. >> Yeah. >> Everybody's going to be talking about every single person. No denying that, >> right? Rumors are spread, rumors are made, people are talking about it, right? Already that day. >> Yes. >> And then >> over let's say a quarter of the the students left that day, Monday. >> Yes. >> Before there was any posting on >> I understand this is a serious matter, but you know the between like
078a text and a post. What's the difference between a text and a post? >> So, a post is generally a share out to the general community. Um, I would call this I think the terminology is the investigator share with me a snap. It's a snap. Um, and that is generally sent to an individual. >> What is a text? That would be a similar type message but in a different app. >> So would you say when somebody posts something it's meant to reach the hundreds everyone? >> That would be the intent I would believe is to share it out. Yes. >> And a text message would be just me texting you. >> Yes. You said there was a series of messages that were added to that message. >> Yes. >> Can you tell me what they
079were? >> There were probably six, seven of them that ranging anywhere from um the one you saw there. We have a couple others that said, you know, it's not over. Um others that said, you know, please pray for the school. Um, you know, very similar general theme, but the wording was different. Like I said, half dozen or more of those. >> That sounds pretty That sounds pretty crazy. I mean, if I would if I had seen all the different different additions to that text message, I would have been a little worried, too. And I'm sure obviously the whole school is worried about but So Jeemma's attendance, what was Gemma's attendance on 22nd? >> Jimma was at school on the 22nd. >> 21st was a Sunday. >> So the 22nd was Monday. >> Correct. >> So
080she was there on the 23rd also. >> She was >> that was the day that everybody didn't show up. >> Correct. You think she had a motive for writing that? Like she didn't want to go to she wanted to not go to school. >> Objection. Calls for speculation. The witness has no way of knowing the student's mental impressions. >> Sustain. You restate if you'd like. You think John intended to have it. So, she wanted to go to school. >> Same objection. >> You uh you It's an opinion at this point. Um Sean, I'll let you go ahead and give your opinion. Overruled then. >> My opinion wasn't Jimma's desire not to be in school. My opinion was that I think Gemma understood that this was not a real event, hence her attendance in the building.
081I think she understood that the message she shared did not represent a credible threat and that's why she felt comfortable being in the building. I believe based upon her reaction during my encounters with her that day was that it was a message generated to create attention. your opinion. >> That is my opinion as you asked. >> She was at school on that Monday. >> You think she was hearing all kinds of people talking about what happened? >> I would guess she did. Yes. >> Everybody did. >> Yes. Do you think if that message was only sent to one person, it would have the effect that it had? >> No. And you do admit that a text message is a private message. >> I think a text message >> heard >> I think a text message
082that I do not give permission to someone to share as a private message. If I was texting, you would be private. >> And if I asked you if I could share it and you said yes, I would no longer determine that a private message. >> Questions. Again, thank you for your time tonight, principal. Based on your discussions with law enforcement on September 22nd, did they indicate to you one way or another whether the student Gemma told the student to share the message? >> They indicated that Gemma gave permission for it to be shared out. >> You referenced at one point in time during your crossexamination that this If you want to flip to exhibit number one there, this language in the middle of that page where it says, "Guys, please don't go to school tomorrow
083and spread the word." That that sort of writing had been changed depending on the messages that you saw. >> Correct. >> But these were all all iterations were of the same text from the student. Correct. >> Yes. So multiple people were sharing and reposting this message as you believe. >> Yes. >> And they all reported that to you on the evening of September 22nd. >> Yes. >> We had a little bit of talk during your crossexamination of students leaving the district on September 22nd and becoming absent. Was that all in the afternoon or was that at multiple times during the course of the day? It started almost immediately. >> And approximately when was this student's message sent out if you know >> um based upon this screenshot looks like 3:38. So after the school day
084was over. >> And so students wouldn't have even begun to have heard about this message because it wasn't sent. Correct. >> Correct. >> And so you were getting specifically this message sent to you on September 22nd. >> Correct. Did anyone report to you just general rumors that they had heard from other students that day? >> No. >> Those are all the questions I have. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Do you have do you have any other witnesses? >> The administration. Thank you, board chair.