Adding to the on-going turmoil of the Lebanon Community School District, former athletic director (AD) Bo Yates has signaled his intention to sue the district and unspecified employees.

A sweeping tort claims notice by Yates' attorney, Kevin Lafky of Salem, says Yates has at least seven potential claims including breach of contract, violation of state whistle blower laws and unspecified constitutional violations.

Yates' allegations stem from his tenure as AD from the spring of 2006 until July of 2007. Yates, the assistant principal at Seven Oak Middle School, ran the athletic program under a one year-extra duty contract that was written to expire annually on June 30.

In December 2006, the district opened an investigation into Yates' handling of athletic funds. In late July 2007, Robinson decided not to renew Yates' AD contract. Robinson said circumstances at Seven Oak requiring Yates to spend more time on duties there was the reason.

On Aug. 1, 2007, the Lebanon School Board called a special meeting at which three members voted to put Robinson on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into his performance.

Among the complaints listed in the tort claim are that Robinson rejected Yates' original choice for head football coach for personal reasons. It also acknowledges the board voted to place Robinson on administrative leave because he chose not to renew Yates' AD contract.

The board members - Rick Alexander, Debi Shimmin and Josh Wineteer - deny the Yates decision had anything to do with their vote, which was rescinded on Sept. 18 under legal advice from the board's council.

E-mails show Shimmin calling Robinson's decision not to allow Yates to continue as AD the "dirty deed" just days before the Aug. 1 decision. Shimmin has recently asked that the board look into the district's investigation of Yates.

Yates also alleges that after Robinson was suspended, Brian Bray, the district's technology service director, told fellow employees it was important to start blogging and shortly thereafter confidential information about Yates began to appear on local blogs.

Bray said he has no recollection of ever making such a statement.

"It's not something I would do," he said. "Everybody here takes confidentially very seriously."

Yates claims that a reporter from the Lebanon Express told him that a member of the district office had revealed to the paper Yates' mishandling of athletic funds - an untrue statement, according to the reporter.

In fact, the tip about the athletic fund investigation came from a source outside the district office. Steve Kelley, acting superintendent at the time, and then district business director Donna Chastain refused to comment on the situation when contacted by the Express reporter because of employee privacy laws.

It wasn't until the reporter met with Yates in early August that the Express was able to confirm the truth of the source's allegations. Yates spoke off the record, but his statements provided enough information for the reporter to request public documents regarding athletic funding from the school district.

The district transferred responsibility for middle school sports to the Lebanon Boys & Girl Club in an agreement signed Oct. 26, 2006. The terms of contract called for the district to transfer $10,000 in fundraising proceeds to the club to be used specifically to support sixth, seventh, and eighth grade sports.

Yates found himself in hot water when district officials discovered he had transferred $3,150 in funds from a LHS volleyball camp to the Boys & Girls Club on Aug. 17, 2006, two months before the contract between the district and club was signed.

Another financial issue that caused problems for Yates was a summer weight lifting program. During the summer of 2006, Lebanon football coaches ran an open weight room at the high school. The Boys & Girl Club paid the coaches - at Yates' direction - several months later, after receiving the $10,000 dollars from the district, even though middle school students made up a minority of the enrollment. Robinson said the primary purpose of the open weight room was to benefit high school athletes.

Jason Yutzie, the club director, said in both cases he assumed Yates was acting with the authorization of the district. The club resolved the weight room issue with the district by providing receipts for several thousand dollars worth of middle school expenditures that offset the amount paid to the high school coaches.

Public records show the district suspended Yates' purchasing authority on Dec. 15, 2006, pending an investigation into the athletic contract with the Boys & Girl Club and other purchasing issues.

On March 2, 2007, Robinson filed a complaint against Yates with the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC). The superintendent has said he was legally obligated to file the complaint.

In an agreement reached with Robinson, Yates reimbursed the high school in August 2008 for $1,650 of the volleyball money transferred to the Boys & Girl Club. According to his tort claim notice, as part of the agreement, Robinson wrote a letter to the TSPC saying the issue with Yates had been resolved.

The commission considered the complaint on Feb. 8 and declined to take any further action against Yates, said Melody Hanson of the TSPC on Monday.

In a rather unusual move, Yates disclosed in his tort claim notice - a public document - that Robinson placed Seven Oak principal Ed Sansom on a plan of assistance in early 2007. District employees are sometimes placed on a plan of assistance to help them when they are struggling with job performance. Such plans are always confidential.

Lafky did not return phone calls regarding the charges made by his client.