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Asbestos Reporter Suing Kilgore College

Posted/updated on: October 9, 2015 at 11:25 am
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Kilgore_CollegeTYLER — A former Kilgore College plant supervisor who made claims of improper asbestos abatement at the school said in a federal lawsuit that he was fired in retaliation for reporting the activity. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. The Whistleblower Act lawsuit by former 13-year employee Dalton Smith names the school and Kilgore College President Bill Holda as defendants. A summons for Holda was issued Wednesday, the docket for the federal Eastern District of Texas showed. He had not received it by Wednesday night and said he was not prepared to comment without seeing the lawsuit. “I don’t know that it’s unexpected, but it’s very, very hard to evaluate, not seeing the specific allegations,” Holda said. “We will wait till we receive an official copy, consult with counsel and proceed with the legal process.” Smith could not be reached by cellphone Wednesday evening for comment.

Smith’s position as coordinator of plant facilities was eliminated, along with the rest of the college’s maintenance department, in this school year budget. Holda said in July that he was proposing to replace the department with a private contractor. He said the privatization had been discussed since 2010 and was not related to Smith and other maintenance employees’ allegations concerning asbestos on campus. Holda described the move as an effort to correct an anticipated $3.6 million shortfall in the budget that wrapped up Aug. 31. He also said cuts to the five-member maintenance department were among 38 positions he planned to trim through termination, retirement, and resignation to balance the coming year’s spending plan.

Smith claims he lost his job because Holda and school trustees targeted him for contacting regulators and the media in fall 2014 about the improper asbestos handling at Dodson Auditorium on the school’s main campus. The Texas Department of State Health Services still is reviewing the case. “After Dr. Holda and Kilgore College’s Board of Directors became aware that Mr. Smith was reporting these violations to the … authorities and the media, Kilgore College began retaliating against Mr. Smith and other physical plant employees involved in these complaints,” the lawsuit states.

Smith states in the lawsuit he first was demoted, from director of physical plant to coordinator, and moved to “a satellite campus,” apparently a transfer to the Longview campus. There, his filing states, Smith’s fellow employees were told not to speak with him or assist him. The lawsuit states Smith was required to notify the Kilgore College Police Department before visiting the main campus in Kilgore. He then was fired, effective Aug. 31. Smith seeks unspecified actual and compensatory damages from the federal court. The case has been assigned to Judge Michael Schneider.



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