Thread by @KyleClark

NEW: Fired DougCo Schools superintendent Corey Wise has hired an attorney and may sue the district. One potential claim stems from Board President Mike Peterson telling @710KNUS talk host @GeorgeBrauchler that the board could have terminated Wise for a fireable offense. (THREAD)

Wise was unilaterally terminated, or fired without cause, by the newly-elected conservative majority school board on Feb 4. That decision prompted a nearly quarter million dollar payout of one year's salary. Mega-thread on that meeting here:

https://twitter.com/KyleClark/status/1489752697196748801

If the school board had fired Wise for cause, no payout would have occurred. During the board meeting, Wise indicated he would fight any effort to fire him for cause, saying, "Bring it on."

Majority board members opted for a unilateral termination without cause. In the following days, Board President Mike Peterson made the rounds of conservative media outlets to make the case for Wise's firing. He appeared on five local talk radio shows and Fox News.

In a Feb 8 appearance on @710KNUS with former district attorney @GeorgeBrauchler, Board President Peterson suggested that Superintendent Wise committed a fireable offense, saying, in part, "We could have come in, removed the superintendent for cause, and installed somebody else."

Peterson did not elaborate on what fireable offense the board majority believed Wise committed and Brauchler did not ask him to explain. 9NEWS Legal Expert Whitney Traylor says Peterson's claim may prompt a defamation claim by Wise.

"Somebody telling me they could fire me for cause is a statement that's going to harm my reputation because when I hear 'for cause' I think you did something wrong," Traylor said. "So that could potentially open the door for other litigation."

Board President Peterson has declined multiple interview requests from @nexton9news. (end thread)

Adding an additional tweet to this thread because I should disclose that Brauchler is a former 9NEWS legal expert.