In a May 14, 2024 letter, Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) Chief Human Resources Officer Robert Martinez told AUSD maintenance worker Jim Kesser he investigated Kesser’s original bullying complaint about Director of Maintenance, Operations and Facilities Ken Turnage.
Kesser had reported to human resources that in January 2023 “Turnage…harass[ed], bull[ied], intimidate[d], and humiliate[d]” him when Turnage directed other employees to move his desk onto a roof. The public display included a ladder and a hand-painted sign that read “Kesser’s Access.”
“Ken 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,” Kesser told the Investigative Unit in a recent interview.
Kesser said he and Turnage has been arguing about his job duties, and the desk incident was public retaliation. However, AUSD’s human resources department disagreed.
According to the letter, …