Clayton school board member to fight accusations of downloading porn

A Clayton County school board member, accused of downloading pornography onto her district-issued laptop, faces a hearing next month to defend herself against the allegations.

Trinia Garrett said Thursday she is preparing to meet with her colleagues in a Jan. 23 special-called school board hearing on accusations that she downloaded pornography from more than 60 websites.

"We certainly want to get to the truth of the issue," school board Chairman Pam Adamson said Thursday. "If an employee is found with pornography on their district-issued computer, they're fired. I think it's important for us to get to the truth of this issue and for Ms. Garrett to defend herself."

Garrett has denied the allegations and has asked for an independent outside investigation into the matter.

"I'm seeking an investigator to take this on," Garrett said Thursday. "I'm not going to place blame on anybody until I find out what's going on. I don't know why they'd target me. I vote for what's right. I feel like I'm being unfairly targeted. I'm going to be ready for the hearing. I'm still getting a lot of stuff together."

The school board is still trying to repair its image after the district lost its accreditation several years ago, largely due to in-fighting on a previous board. Accreditation was fully restored in May of this year.

The issue with Garrett's computer came to light after a school board-authorized examination was made of all school district equipment. The probe was initiated to investigate allegations involving "a personnel matter," Adamson said. The probe included computers and cellphones issued by the district to workers and school board members, Adamson said.

The board has since received a letter from the forensic investigator who conducted the probe of the district's equipment detailing what was found on Garrett's computer, Adamson said.

"As a result of his looking at Ms. Garrett's computer, he found her computer had been used to access a large amount of pornography," Adamson said. Given the amount of pornography found, Adamson added, "It's more than accidental. We can all stumble into that, but this is more than accidental."

School board member Jessie Goree questioned the validity of the accusations Thursday.

"It's really odd and amazing to me considering [the school's information technology department] has had her [Garrett's] computer at least three times this year. That [pornography] should have shown up during those times they had it," Goree said. "As a former employee of the school district, they're supposed to block those sites."

Goree also questioned the board's approach to handling the situation.

"This is unnecessary," Goree said. "It's very easy for anybody to end up with inappropriate material. The board could have just written her a letter. It should have been handled privately, but our board likes to embarrass people. They like to be punitive."

The board does not have the authority to remove Garrett, who represents District 7, which includes the Morrow area. Garrett joined the board in 2008. Only the governor can remove an elected official. If the board decides Garrett is guilty of accessing or having pornography on her computer, it can reprimand her, take away privileges, including her laptop, or ask the governor to remove her from office, Adamson said.

The incident is the latest sign of tension among Clayton County Public Schools' leadership.

Last month, Goree was disciplined because of her conduct at an Oct. 5 meeting at North Clayton High School. According to a complaint filed against her by Superintendent Edmond Heatley, Goree allegedly acted inappropriately, becoming disrespectful and combative.

"Supposedly I was rude to the superintendent when in fact the superintendent was rude to me and constituents," Goree said. Goree was suspended from the board’s Dec. 5 business meeting and is ineligible to serve as board chair or vice chair for two years.