The Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office filed a misdemeanor charge against North Kitsap School District superintendent Laurynn Evans Feb. 21 for allegedly removing or defacing political advertisement.
Evans was named as a suspect in a case involving the theft and disposal of campaign signs against the Feb. 13 NKSD bond measure, which ended up failing with 64% voting against it.
The maximum penalty is 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Evans has no prior criminal convictions or criminal charges on her record, Prosecutor Chad Enright said. She is set to appear in Kitsap district court Feb. 28.
“Although there has been a great deal of public interest in this case, this office will comply with the Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys,” Enright said. State law “limits the public comments that we can make concerning a pending case. This case will be handled in the same manner as thousands of other misdemeanor cases that our office, and the Kitsap County District Court, handle every year.”
Evans is on paid administrative leave from the district. The district’s school board appointed Rachel Davenport, executive director of human resources, as acting superintendent.
“We have been made aware that the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office filed a misdemeanor charge against Dr. Evans,” a statement from NKSD reads. “We understand that it is frustrating for our staff, families, and community that we cannot discuss details of personnel matters. The board continues to be committed to a full and fair investigation, to making evidence-based decisions, and to keeping the best interests of our students as our guiding focus.”
Allegations
Around 6:30 a.m. Jan. 26, a video shows a woman with medium-length blonde hair wearing a black down jacket at the scene, pulling up two signs, tossing them into the back of a gray Ford Ranger and closing the bed cover.
Two people against the bond measure were watching because signs were being stolen. They had set up the video camera.
After the woman left, they followed.
At a stoplight, one tried to take the woman’s photo and said he was shocked at who he saw.
A sheriff’s report says the truck pulled into the Poulsbo Sons of Norway parking lot. The Kingtson-North Kitsap Rotary Club was meeting, and Evans was in attendance.
After the meeting, law enforcement questioned Evans, who confirmed that the Ranger was hers, but denied that she had taken any signs. Instead, she said she planned to distribute signs in favor of the bond. Officers did not find any anti-Proposition 1 signs in her truck, but did see pro-bond signs and a mallet.
However, they observed some “greenish-blue” grease on the truck’s tailgate — consistent with the grease put on the anti-bond signs to deter them from being stolen.
A sheriff’s sergeant recovered two anti-bond signs in the bushes along Stottlemeyer Road. A deputy later found a gardening glove and a yellow towel wrapped in paper with the message “SUPPORT NK STUDENTS & SCHOOLS VOTE YES” — all covered in blue-green grease — in a nearby dumpster.
